Ask three experts and you get six opinions.
We want to install electric roller shutters. The building price includes shutters with plastic slats. Now we’ve heard that beyond a certain width, only aluminum is recommended because plastic slats can deform. But exactly what width is that? How much does heat affect this? Of course, the largest window areas face south.
The answers from the window installers confuse us more than they help. One says from 4 m² (43 sq ft) it has to be aluminum, another says up to 3 m (10 ft) wide and 4.5 m² (48 sq ft) plastic is still okay, and the next only uses aluminum because of the heat in the south. The manufacturer doesn’t provide any information at all – which I find really disappointing! It’s a total mess.
Aluminum is quite expensive and we don’t want to spend unnecessary money. But of course, it would be awful if the shutters deform in the sun. Our largest windows are 2100 mm (83 inches) high and 1650 mm (65 inches) wide. What would you choose?
We want to install electric roller shutters. The building price includes shutters with plastic slats. Now we’ve heard that beyond a certain width, only aluminum is recommended because plastic slats can deform. But exactly what width is that? How much does heat affect this? Of course, the largest window areas face south.
The answers from the window installers confuse us more than they help. One says from 4 m² (43 sq ft) it has to be aluminum, another says up to 3 m (10 ft) wide and 4.5 m² (48 sq ft) plastic is still okay, and the next only uses aluminum because of the heat in the south. The manufacturer doesn’t provide any information at all – which I find really disappointing! It’s a total mess.
Aluminum is quite expensive and we don’t want to spend unnecessary money. But of course, it would be awful if the shutters deform in the sun. Our largest windows are 2100 mm (83 inches) high and 1650 mm (65 inches) wide. What would you choose?
lastdrop schrieb:
Why is aluminum better than plastic when it comes to heat?Not because it resists heat better, but because of the heat itself. Plastic roller shutters tend to fade and warp. They should not be wider than 1.5m (5 feet).
H
hampshire16 Jan 2020 17:33We had gray plastic roller shutters for 18 years, measuring 2.8 x 2.2 meters (9.2 x 7.2 feet), facing southeast. No repairs were needed, no signs of aging or significant fading, and no deformation. Whether aluminum would have been better—no idea. The plastic definitely worked well.
SchwalbenFahre17 Jan 2020 21:41hampshire schrieb:
We had gray plastic roller shutters for 18 years, sized 2.8 x 2.2 m (9.2 x 7.2 ft) facing southeast. No repairs, no patina or significant fading, no deformation. Whether aluminum would have been better—I don’t know. The plastic definitely worked. You got the good quality back then!!!
In the past, the material was much thicker and stronger.
Nowadays, the plastic slats of roller shutters are much thinner than 20 years ago. This is intentional by the manufacturers.
**Plastic**
+ lower initial cost
- less stability
- shorter lifespan (especially for large elements), as the joints between the slats become brittle and break over time
- slats are not always locked on the sides → they can shift more easily, causing the shutter to jam
+ but this also means individual (damaged) slats can be replaced more easily
- fewer color options
- easier to cut through during break-ins (with a utility knife) and to pull out of the guide rails
- not very colorfast → depending on sun exposure, the original color changes quite quickly
**Aluminum**
- more expensive
+ longer lasting
+ much more stable
+ more colorfast
+ greater variety of colors
+ resistant to break-ins
+ slightly better thermal and sound insulation properties
+ slats are always locked on the sides, which makes everything run more smoothly (also during installation, repairs, etc.)
H
hampshire17 Jan 2020 21:45SchwalbenFahre schrieb:
You got the good quality!!!What luck with a typical terraced house developer product.
bauenmk202019 Jan 2020 09:15We are also getting plastic roller shutters. Unfortunately, I hadn’t considered this, and during the selection process, I didn’t want to pay the additional cost to change them. Later, the site manager told us: “In summer, never close the roller shutters completely because of the trapped heat between the shutter and the window.”
That really confused me...
That really confused me...
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