Thermal Shutters | Keep Your Home Warm with Plantation Shutters

🏡 Thermal Shutters

Keep Warm in Winter

Plantation Shutters aren’t just a stylish addition to your windows — they’re also a practical way to help retain heat, reduce draughts, and keeping your home warm and inviting.

Wood is a natural insulator, offering up to 1,000 times better thermal insulation than aluminium.

According to the British Blind and Shutter Association (BBSA), Plantation Shutters can reduce heat loss through your windows by up to 28% — helping you save on energy bills while keeping your rooms cosier through the colder months.

Whether you’re facing heat loss through bay windows, bedroom draughts, or large open-plan spaces, we offer a range of thermal shutter options — including lightweight hardwood, ABS slat, and the highly efficient Shutter and Shade system.

Key Features of Thermal Shutters

✅ Lightweight Shutters – Less dense timber retains more air, offering improved thermal insulation
✅ ABS Slat Shutters – Hollow slats create an internal air gap for insulation
✅ Shutter & Shade – Combines a shutter with a Cellular Blind to reduce heat loss and darken room
✅ Layering Options – Add Cellular Blinds, Roman Blinds or Curtains to increase warmth further
✅ Reduces Draughts – Shutters fit tightly around the recess, unlike blinds that leave perimeter gaps
✅ Supports Energy Efficiency – Helps stabilise indoor temperature and reduce heating bills
✅ Suitable for All Rooms – Ideal for Bay Windows, Bedrooms, Kitchens and living areas
✅ Expert Fitting Included – Made-to-measure with post-installation checklist to ensure best performance

🏠 Shutters Help Keep Your Home Warmer

Reducing Draughts

Unlike blinds or curtains, plantation shutters are mounted directly to the window recess, reducing the gaps around the edges where cold air would normally seep in.
Their solid structure and fitted design make them far more effective at controlling heat loss compared to free-hanging blinds.

Combined with lightweight hardwood materials or specialist designs like Shutter and Shade, they become a crucial part of your home’s energy-saving strategy.

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🧱 Materials for Thermal Performance

Choosing the right material is vital for maximising the thermal benefits of shutters:

• Lightweight Hardwood (Sark Range): Lower density timber with natural insulating properties.
• ABS Slat Shutters (Alderney Range): Hollow slats offer improved insulation and splash-resistance
• UK-Made Shutters (Wisley Range): Durable, eco-friendly, waterproof, and fast 5-week delivery.

MDF is dense and heavier, and while it’s durable, it doesn’t offer the same natural thermal performance as ligtweight hardwood or ABS Slat options.

🌙 Shutter and Shade

Maximum Room Thermal Gain & Room Darkening

Our Shutter and Shade system is the most effective solution we offer for reducing heat loss and improving thermal insulation. It combines a full height shutter with an integrated blackout cellular blind discreetly mounted behind the slats.

The cellular blind forms a honeycomb structure that traps air — acting like double glazing for your windows. When used together, the shutter and blind create a dual barrier that keeps warmth in and cold out, all while giving you flexible control over privacy and light.

It’s particularly effective in:
• Bedrooms where temperature control and room darkening are crucial
• Street-facing rooms where cold and external are more noticeable
• Older homes with single glazing or less efficient insulation

🛠️ Expert Measuring and Fitting

Thermal performance isn’t just about the shutter itself — it depends heavily on how well it fits. A shutter that’s too small allows draughts; too large and it won’t install correctly. That’s why accurate measurement and skilled fitting are absolutely essential.

At Surrey Blinds and Shutters, we take this extremely seriously:
✅ We use precision laser measuring tools, accurate to within 1.5mm across 50m
✅ We take more measurements than most, assessing the narrowest and widest parts of the recess
✅ We also measure diagonals to check whether the window is square or out of true

Because no window is ever perfectly square, every shutter frame must allow a small installation tolerance. Even a few additional millimetres of unnecessary gap can reduce thermal performance by allowing cold air to leak in.

To ensure a snug, professional finish, we:
• Apply a sealant bead between the shutter frame and the wall, which helps eliminate draughts
• Custom-size your shutters based on the most accurate readings available
• Only use our own in-house fitters, and complete a detailed post-installation checklist

This level of tolerance is aligned with BBSA guidance and is designed to give your shutters the best possible performance — for warmth, longevity, and aesthetics.

This is particularly important for:
• Bay windows, where alignment can reduce corner gaps
• Older properties, where window frames may not be square
• Doors or wide openings, where airflow loss can be significant

🔇 Additional Benefit: Noise Reduction

While most people consider shutters for warmth or style, there’s a natural bonus when it comes to noise reduction.

Well-fitted plantation shutters can significantly reduce sound transmission, especially in rooms facing the street, communal areas, or noisy outdoor spaces.

How it works:
• The panel and louvre design create a physical sound reducing barrier
• Materials like lightweight hardwood help absorb vibrations
• Layering with Roman Blinds & Curtains further dampens noise

They’re especially effective for bedrooms facing streets, busy areas, or communal spaces.

🧺 Layering for Extra Thermal Protection

Layering shutters with additional window treatments is an excellent way to boost insulation further:

• Cellular blinds (Light Filtering): Maintain natural daylight while still improving thermal performance — ideal for kitchens, halls, and living spaces.
• Roman blinds or curtains (Thermal Lining): Add heavy layers for maximum warmth, especially in bedrooms.

This approach gives you flexibility depending on the room’s needs and your lifestyle.

🌡️ Keeping Cooler in Summer

While the focus of thermal shutters is usually keeping warmth in, they can also help regulate heat in warmer months — especially when sunlight falls directly on the windows.

Shutters work best when:
• They’re closed during the hottest part of the day to block solar gain
• Paired with a solar reflective blind (an alternative to Shutter & Shade)
• Installed in south-facing room prone to overheating

A blind with a reflective backing is ideal if you want to keep your room cooler while still letting some light in — making it perfect for kitchens, hallways, or bright lounges.

🇬🇧 UK-Made Shutters – The Wisley Range

Our Wisley range of UK-manufactured shutters offers a combination of style, speed, and sustainability — without compromising on quality.
• ✅ Made in the UK – great for local support and reliability
• ✅ Fast lead time – delivery and installation in as little as 5 weeks
• ✅ Eco-friendly – significantly lower carbon footprint than imported alternatives
• ✅ Waterproof – suitable for bathrooms, kitchens, and humid environments
• ✅ Wide colour choice – available in nine stunning colours

UK-made shutters are an ideal solution for customers who need their shutters quickly, want to minimise their environmental impact, or simply prefer to buy British.

📍 Interested in faster delivery or sustainable options?

🆓 Free Temporary Blinds While You Wait

When you order plantation shutters from us, we offer complimentary temporary blinds to cover your windows during the manufacturing period — so you’re never left without privacy or control over light.

These temporary blinds are:

• Free With A Shutter Purchase
• Easy to fit
• Neutral in colour and discreet in appearance
• Ideal for maintaining privacy and comfort while your shutters are being made

📍 Just one more way we aim to make your experience smooth and stress-free.

🪵 Engineered Stiles

Most of our shutters are built with engineered stiles, which are made by laminating multiple layers of timber together. This process improves dimensional stability, reducing the risk of warping over time.

Engineered stiles help your shutters maintain their shape and alignment, especially on taller panels, and contribute to the overall durability of the installation, ideal for the long-term performance of full height shutters.

🪚 Traditional Mortise and Tenon Joints

All of our plantation shutters are built using traditional mortise and tenon joints — a time-tested carpentry method that provides superior strength and long-term durability.

In this method, the rail slots directly into the stile of the shutter frame, creating a solid and secure join without the need for dowels, glue blocks, or short-lived fastenings. This approach:

• Minimises movement and warping over time
• Reinforces the frame’s overall strength
• Ensures a longer-lasting, high-quality finish

📍 Want to learn more about how our shutters are constructed?

🤝 Our Service Commitment

At Surrey Blinds and Shutters, we combine quality craftsmanship with trusted service, ensuring every customer receives a smooth, professional experience from start to finish.

✅ Our Own In-House Fitting Team

All of our shutters are installed by our own experienced fitters — we never subcontract. You’ll deal with the same trusted team throughout your journey.

✅ Post-Installation Checklist

Once your shutters are fitted, we carry out a detailed checklist to make sure everything is perfect and you’re completely happy before we leave.

✅ 10-Year Shutter Guarantee

We stand by the quality of our products. That’s why all our shutters come with a full 10-year guarantee for your peace of mind.

✅ UK-Made Shutters in as Little as 5 Weeks

Need shutters sooner? Our UK-made range can be manufactured and installed in as little as five weeks – ideal if you’re working to a deadline.

✅ Established in 2009

We’ve been proudly trading since 2009, bringing years of hands-on experience to every consultation, installation, and customer we work with.

✅ Free Temporary Blinds While You Wait

Waiting for shutters to be made? We offer complimentary temporary blinds so you’re never without privacy or light control during the lead time.

Whether you’re fitting out a single bay or updating your whole home, we’re here to help from start to finish – with a team that genuinely cares.

How to Get Started

Book your free consultation today and let our experts guide you through the best options for your space.

📞 Call us on 01483 608 274
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🅿️ Visit Our Byfleet Showroom »
Big Yellow, Office 4, 113–115 Oyster Lane
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Schedule your consultation today and let us help you create a stunning look for your windows.