It's a monotonous story: roller shutters are great!

Roller shutters are great! Of course, that's a bit short-sighted and certainly not everyone thinks the same, but at least they have some excellent properties. Remarkably - or perhaps it is not so remarkable at all - those properties still appeal less to people in the west and north of the Netherlands than in the border areas and in Belgium. 

Curtains open and look in, that is still often the adage in - briefly - Holland. The pros and cons of this have already been discussed at length in the foreword. The need for privacy appears to be growing. But in addition, there are other developments that seem to detract from "curtains open. In the Netherlands, the price cap will disappear in 2024, leading to a considerable increase in energy costs. Any form of energy saving is then welcome, including shutters that can substantially reduce heat loss through windows. 

But roller shutters have many more advantages, of course, such as increasing security. This is especially true, of course, if they are burglar-proof due to a lift protection and other special features. A roller shutter seems like quite a barrier to burglars, but "ordinary" roller shutters are only very partially so. 

Another great advantage of shutters is blackout. For the bedroom in particular, shutters provide optimal blackout, which is very important for a good night's sleep. If a bedroom is not darkened properly, the body does not produce enough sleep-inducing melatonin, a sleep hormone that positively affects sleep rhythms. It causes the deep sleep phase to be reached earlier and the quality of sleep to be better and more effective. Naturally, this in turn affects daytime functioning, because well-rested people perform better. 

So shutters have significant advantages, except ... curtains open and looking in. That's no longer in the cards with shutters.