Hurricane Shutters vs. Impact Windows

Do Hurricane Shutters and Impact Windows offer a different level of protection?

Both our hurricane shutters and impact windows have been tested and approved by Florida’s Miami Dade County to protect your home from category 5 hurricane force winds. Any debris carried by winds over the wind force Miami Dade County tests for can break concrete walls and therefore will not add an extra level of protection to your home. Any companies advertising that their products withstand higher wind speeds then the Miami Dade code cannot be validated because Miami-Dade County has the most demanding wind speed test in Florida, and the entire United States.

Are Impact Windows more convenient than Hurricane Shutters?

Absolutely. All hurricane shutters will need to be shut before protecting your home. There are a wide variety of different styles that may be more convenient to deploy. Our two most popular hurricane shutters are accordion hurricane shutters and hurricane panels. Hurricane panels will have to be manually installed and screwed into your wall every time you want to deploy them in preparation for a storm. It will take a few hours to a day to install hurricane panels on a medium-sized home. Accordion hurricane shutters are far easier to deploy then hurricane panels because instead of having to be screwed into the walls, they will sit on the edges of your windows. Their locking mechanism works similar to an accordion. You pull the accordion shutters closed whenever you want to deploy them. It takes around 20 minutes to 40 minutes to deploy them on a medium-sized, single story home in Florida.

What are the advantages of Impact Windows

Hurricane Impact Windows are a great way to protect your home from hurricanes in Florida. They let the light into your home and allow you to see outside of your home during a storm. Hurricane Impact Windows do not require any work to set up and are always protecting your home from hurricanes or any storm. Our impact windows extend past just hurricane protection, they also help protect your home from theft. Hurricane glass can resist massive amounts of force from human hands and most blunt and sharp weapons. There are hundreds of different window styles, shapes, and colors available to protect your home and make it look great. Hurricane windows do not have a shutter or metal element, so they have more curb appeal than any other shutter you can find on the market. You won’t even know its there until you need it. But you will definitely see the difference in your electric bill for air conditioning because many of our impact windows will help keep your home cooler.

What are the advantages of Accordion Shutters

Accordion shutters are one of the most convenient and cost-effective hurricane shutter systems on the planet. The only shutter that is more convenient than accordion shutters is roll-down shutters. But roll down shutters are just as expensive as impact glass, and roll downs are much clunkier then both impact windows and accordion shutters. Accordion shutters can be deployed in a fraction of the time that it would take to deploy hurricane panels.

What are the advantages of Hurricane Panels

Hurricane panels are one of the cheapest available forms of hurricane protection. But hurricane panels can also be one of the biggest hassles to deploy before a hurricane. It is usually recommended to install hurricane panels with 2 or more people because of the weight of the shutters and time it takes to install. Hurricane panels are not normally recommended by professional hurricane shutter and impact window companies due to far better hurricane protection systems being available for closely-comparable prices (accordion shutters.)