General information, not legal, engineering or insurance advice.
Both impact windows and properly rated storm shutters can protect your home's openings. The right choice depends on your budget, who will be home to prepare for storms, how your house is built, and what else you want from the product. Here's how the options compare.
Why openings matter
When a window or door breaks in a hurricane or severe storm, wind and rain can enter the house. Wind entering through a broken opening can raise the pressure inside, adding to the forces trying to lift the roof and push out walls. Protecting every opening, including sliding doors and the garage door, helps keep the building envelope intact.
Impact windows and doors
Impact windows use laminated glass (two or more layers of glass bonded to a tough interlayer) in a reinforced frame. The glass can crack when hit, but it is designed to stay in the frame and keep the opening closed.
- Always on: no preparation before a storm and nothing to store.
- Everyday benefits: noise reduction, UV filtering and added security.
- Cost: generally the highest upfront cost, because you are replacing the entire window or door.
- After a storm: cracked impact glass usually needs replacing even if it did its job.
See impact windows & glass and impact & wind-rated doors.
Storm shutters
Shutters cover existing windows and doors. The main types (see storm shutters & panels):
- Storm panels: removable aluminum, steel or clear polycarbonate panels on tracks or studs. Usually the lowest cost, but they must be stored and installed by hand before each storm.
- Accordion shutters: permanently mounted, unfold along tracks and lock. Quick for one person to close; visible when open.
- Roll-down shutters: stored in a hood above the opening and lowered by crank or motor. Fastest to deploy; usually the most expensive shutter type.
- Bahama and colonial shutters: decorative, permanently mounted shutters that close over windows. Some models are rated for storms; check the test documentation.
Side-by-side
| Question | Impact windows | Panels | Accordion | Roll-down |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prep before a storm | None | Most effort | Close and lock | Crank or switch |
| Relative upfront cost | Highest | Lowest | Moderate | High |
| Storage needed | No | Yes | No | No |
| Changes look of home | New windows | Tracks/anchors only | Visible stacks | Hood boxes |
| Daylight during storm | Yes | Only clear panels | No | No |
| Works if you're away | Yes | Only if someone installs | Only if closed | Only if closed |
Questions to help you decide
- Who will prepare the house? If you travel, live alone, have limited mobility or own a second home, full-time protection or easy-to-close shutters are worth more.
- Do your windows need replacing anyway? If they're old or leaking, impact windows solve two problems at once.
- How many upper-floor openings do you have? Panels on second-story windows mean ladders in bad weather; consider accordions, roll-downs or impact glass there.
- What do the HOA rules allow? Many associations specify colors, types and when shutters may be closed.
- Is the roof ready too? Openings and roof work together. If your roof is due for replacement, consider wind-resistant or FORTIFIED upgrades at the same time.
Ask for the test documentation
Whatever you choose, ask the contractor for the product's test or approval documentation. It should show the design pressure the product was tested to, whether it passed impact testing, the sizes covered, and the required installation and anchoring method. Correct installation matters as much as the product itself. Ask who will pull any required permit, and keep the documents with your home records; your insurer may ask for them. Check your contractor's state license too: seehiring a licensed contractor in Alabama.