PERTH PLANTATION SHUTTERS
Understanding Heat Transfer & Shutter Performance
When it comes to keeping your home cooler in summer and warmer in winter, plantation shutters can significantly impact thermal performance — especially when installed correctly with the right materials and finishes. At Westend, we believe that understanding how heat moves helps you make a more informed decision about your shutters.
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The Three Ways Heat Transfers Into Your Home
Heat enters your space through conduction, convection, and radiation:
Conduction is heat transfer through solid materials (like window glass).
Convection is the movement of heat through air circulation near a window.
Radiation occurs when heat travels through space via sunlight and infrared waves.
Shutters and window coverings reduce heat by interrupting these pathways — reflecting sunlight, lowering surface temperatures, and trapping air between the window and room.
HEAT REDUCING
Shutters Help ReduceHeat Loads
While no large-scale studies have been conducted specifically on plantation shutters, data from aluminium blinds provides reliable insight.
In Canadian studies, aluminium louvres were shown to reduce cooling loads by up to 47% and heating loads by 36%. Similar results were found in tests blocking long-wave radiation — showing that shutters dramatically reduce how much heat radiates into the room through the glass.
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Reflection & Emissivity Explained
Aluminium is one of the most reflective building materials, bouncing up to 97% of radiant heat back into the atmosphere. This helps prevent overheating in summer while reducing heat loss in winter.
This reflectivity is measured using emissivity values — a scale from 0 to 1 that shows how much heat a material absorbs vs reflects:
High emissivity (closer to 1) = absorbs heat
Low emissivity (closer to 0) = reflects heat
While material plays a role, colour has a bigger effect on thermal absorption. Dark colours absorb more solar energy and get hotter. Light colours — especially white painted shutters — reflect more light and heat, keeping interiors cooler.
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Emissivity Table (How Materials Compare)
Material | Emissivity |
|---|---|
Aluminium: polished | 0.02 |
Aluminium: black painted | 0.97 |
Aluminium: white painted | 0.84 |
PVC: black painted | 0.95 |
PVC: white painted | 0.84 |
Glass (single pane) | 0.94 |
Concrete | 0.92 |
Wood | 0.95 |
Brick | 0.81 |
As shown, white-painted aluminium and PVC have nearly identical emissivity levels, making them both excellent choices for energy efficiency — especially when paired with quality finishes and proper installation.
