CHOOSING SHUTTERX® FROM WILMS FOR AIRTIGHT SHUTTERS MEANS SAVING ON ENERGY BILLS

Driven by European climate goals, regulations on energy performance are becoming stricter at a rapid pace. Good airtightness is crucial to meeting these stricter requirements. Meanwhile, roller shutters - like blinds - play a role in determining energy levels. Wilms, specialist in sun protection, roller shutters and outdoor living products, with the ShutterX^® a roller shutter designed specifically for airtight construction in the range.

With traditional built-in and surface-mounted roller shutters, a good result could never be achieved in a blower door test before. After all, a home could not be airtight with these products. "Whoever wanted to install a roller shutter also had to remove part of the cavity wall insulation to be able to mount the box," explains CEO Erik Wilms. "This created a construction node, through which heat could easily escape from inside to outside. Moreover, there was a risk of condensation forming on the interior wall where the cabinet was in the cavity wall. Windows in

combination with such shutters could also never be fixed at the top against the interior wall, so the installation often lost much of its strength."

"Every day, our R&D department takes up the challenge of developing sustainable systems that can solve problems or respond to trends in the market," Wilms continues. "Witnesses to this are the surface-mounted box with ventilation, the screen that can be built into the cavity or the aluminum and carbon shafts for our screens."

Roller shutter for airtight buildings

With sustainability in mind, Wilms also developed an innovative roller shutter that is guaranteed to be airtight, thus eliminating all of the aforementioned problems. "In addition gee also adds aesthetic value to the facade," Erik Wilms said.

Wilms had with the ZipX^®Zero in 2013 already developed a screen that could be integrated airtight, but for roller shutters this concept did not yet exist. That's where the specialist for sun protection, roller shutters and products for outdoor living has taken off with the ShutterX shutter.^® so now change that. "The shutter ShutterX^® is not only integrated invisibly into the facade, but is also concealed airtight in the cavity wall without touching and perforating the inner wall," Erik Wilms explains. The insulation that is removed from the cavity for this purpose is replaced by a composite reinforcement profile that is integrated into the inner wall at the level of the box and takes over and even improves the insulation value of the missing cavity wall insulation. In addition, the window can be fixed to the interior wall at the top.

A window with roller shutter ShutterX^® is finished all around in the daylight opening with insulating construction boards, as a barrier between the cold outside and warm inside air. To avoid cold window sills in winter, a composite window support profile is used, on which both the interior and exterior window sills rest.

The end user wins

Those who choose airtight shutters get a lot in return, is Wilms' opinion. The thermal bridges - or building knots - caused by the cabinet, guides and window sill are eliminated with ShutterX^® solved. Plus, with shutters, you make it easier to keep the heat in during the cold winter months and prevent overheating in the summer, eliminating the need for energy-consuming air conditioners.

"As an end user, you can control solar radiation yourself," concludes Erik Wilms. "In winter, autumn or spring, letting the sun's heat in can be very interesting, while on warmer days it is better to keep the sun out to keep it cool inside. Tests have shown that one consumer per 1 meter 50 square window with an airtight ShutterX^® shutter saves more than 40 euros annually on energy bills!"