Weathering The Storm: 5 Benefits Of Installing Hurricane Proof Windows

Hurricane season has always brought problems to South Florida and the Caribbean, but recent years have seen an incredible amount. In 2017 there were 10 storms in a row that became hurricanes, an occurrence that hadn’t been seen since 1893. With the potential for that number to remain the same, or even increase, in coming years, it is essential to outfit your buildings with hurricane proof windows.

1. Protection Against Hurricane Rains and Winds: Hurricane proof windows are made of several layers of glass or other synthetic materials that are very difficult to shatter or penetrate. In order to ensure that window manufacturers are making them strong enough to properly protect against the intense winds and rains of a hurricane, they are required to go through two tests. First, they shoot 10 projectiles from a cannon and a 9-pound piece of lumber at multiple points of the glass. They then use a machine to blow varying intensities of pressure against the glass. The windows pass if the projectile’s hole is less than five inches and doesn’t let through anything larger than a three-inch sphere.
2. Improved Energy Efficiency: As summer heat engulfs Florida and islands in the Caribbean year-round, keeping cool air indoors is essential and cost-friendly. When less cool air escapes, the air conditioning is turned on less and energy bills go down. Many impact-resistant windows are made of laminated glass that uses LoE coatings, keeping the hot humid air out.
3. One-time Installation: With standard windows, you need to put up hurricane shutters each hurricane season in order to protect your buildings. This costs time and labor, and sometimes a hurricane warning goes out but it doesn’t end up hitting land. When that’s the case, you’ve wasted precious time and energy. When you install hurricane proof windows you have continuous protection, whether or not a storm hits, and you can do away with repetitively putting up hurricane shutters.
4. Insurance Premium Discounts: Many insurance providers recognize that hurricane resistant windows protect buildings year round, and will offer premium discounts because of this. The savings with this premium could even offset the installation cost of the windows.
5. Theft Protection: High impact windows are so strong they make it nearly impossible for intruders to use them to break in. Even if a thief is able to shatter the glass, the windows minimize further fractures from initial impacts, making the hole they make to small to pass through. Many people have installed these windows for theft protection alone.

Hurricane season is here and the worst months of it are approaching. Hurricane resistant windows will protect your property and simplify hurricane seasons for years to come.