Frequently Asked Questions

What are the benefits of roller shutters?

A roller shutter can perform many functions and the benefits of these functions are numerous but can be summarised as follows.

Reduced noise levels from local traffic and people – If you live under a flight path or close to a busy road, then roller shutters will benefit you because their insulating properties have the additional function of dampening the intrusion of unwanted noise by up to 50%. By creating a barrier in front of the window, the noise flow which is transferred by vibrations through the air is reduced.

Insulation – The shutters perform the function of keeping out the heat and cold and keeping the house at a more moderate temperature. The way the shutter is constructed means that the function of the shutter could provide up to 90% reduction in thermal transfer through the covered window.

Light Control – If you work shifts or have children that wake up with the sun during the summer months then a shutter could solve these issues. A roller shutter can offer up to 100% control of the effects of harmful ultra violet and infra red rays. The shutter has the added function of perforated slats which can be adjusted to diffuse the suns rays while allowing light into the room.

Fire & Storm protection – The heat from a fire can easily shatter glass in a window as can extreme weather. The shutter forms a barrier between these elements and your home.

Security – Australia’s largest home insurer the NRMA reports that 55% of domestic break ins are through unprotected windows. The roller shutter can offer the first line of defence in this situation.
 

Will a roller shutter keep out fire?

Simulated bushfire exposure was carried out with OZRoll® shutters covering a window compared with an unprotected window. A full documented report accompanied with a videotape of the tests was provided. The testing subjected the samples to a maximum radiant heat load that a building is expected to be subjected to in an area of high bushfire hazard, as defined in AS 3959, Construction of Buildings in Bushfire-prone areas – 1999.

The shutter whilst scorched had retained its integrity with no discernible buckling of the slats and only slight buckling of the head box. The shutter was still operable after the exposure although operation was slightly stiff due to partial deformation of the plastic pulley.

The unprotected window did not have the same success and cracking appeared very early on with the glass eventually exploding and falling out of the frame. It should be noted that there was no wind pressure on the unprotected window during this exposure. The gusting winds that generally accompany bushfires would cause a window with the same degree of cracking to fail considerably earlier it did in the no-wind laboratory exposure.

The conclusion was that OZRoll® window shutters provided complete protection from a simulated bushfire exposure with a maximum radiant heat flux of 29 kw/m2 and still remained operable. Whereas the unprotected window suffered cracking at increasing frequency once the radiant heat flux surpassed 8 kw/m2. The glass fell out of the frame 43 seconds after the peak exposure level was reached and would have been sooner had the wind been a factor.