Like any other home installations, roller shutters have received their fair share of critics concerning their safety. While they might offer a perfect solution to security, they also pose a certain risk of injury when not used or installed correctly. According to statistics, in a week there occurs an average of at least one shutter-related accident in Australia. Many of these accidents occur due to incorrect design and installation. This is why it is important to buy roller shutters that are correctly designed regardless of whether you are buying them for your home or commercial property. Outdoor Security Window Roller Shutters are designed with specific parts that enhance their safety, it is still good for the owner to take some specific steps towards preventing accidents from taking place. Since they are heavy pieces of industrial machinery and some are electronically powered, they have their own risks and fails. Thankfully, there are some tips and guidelines that when you abide to can help you prevent some of the major common incidents from happening.
Fire Safety
One of the major concerns for most Australians is whether they can escape from a window installed with roller shutters in case of fire. However, it is worth noting that according to manufacturing regulations, every roller shutter is either designed to be manually operated or designed with a manual override in case the shutter is motorized. Likewise, all locks used are usually designed to use keyless latches that can be operated from inside the house without having to unlock the latch using a key. All this safety considerations make installing roller shutters on your windows safe for you and your house. According to independent testing and fire ratings, most roller fire shutters are rated at least 4 hours. This means that they can withstand fire for up to four hours. On the other hand, most homeowners prefer putting roller shutters on those windows that are the most exposed to break-ins, noise, and weather. This leaves them with at least one exit point to use in case of fires from inside.
Dangerous surfing
One of children’s potentially dangerous hobbies in Australia is “shutter surfing”. This is where children jump on to the bottom ledge of a shutter as it begins to open, ride up on it, and jump off it before it is fully opened. This has led to many children getting injured or even being crushed to death. However, this and other roller shutter surfing relating accidents can be prevented by fitting safety devices on the shutter. When a shutter is fitted with safety devices, it will stop operating immediately and prevent injuries and death. Likewise, a shutter can overheat when it is exposed to a weight that is larger than it is designed to carry. As a result, thermal overload will be activated causing it to stop and cause injury. It is only when a photocell is fitted close to the top of the shutter that it will be forced to automatically stop when the beam gets obstructed or broken.
Cowboy installations
One of the disadvantages of hiring cowboy installers to install roller shutters for you is under-specify the diameter of the barrel on which the shutter winds upon around and the motor type. To save on expenses, they often try to fit the much cheaper tubular motors into everything instead of just fitting an outboard motor. This however, creates an unsafe load because of the barrel deflection. This can lead to the gearbox wearing out and the brackets supporting the curtain to fail, sending the shutter into freefall, and causing injury.
Conclusion
Safety should be a major concern when dealing with roller shutters, especially those that are electrically operated and the much larger ones. Often, the larger the shutter, the greater the danger it poses to you as a greater force is used to operate it. Therefore, a lot of care and common sense should be taken into account when installing and using larger and electric operated shutters. Likewise, roller shutters are exposed to constant pressure due to frequent operation. Although most of them are made to last, with time their mechanisms will deteriorate and this calls for regular maintenance from the part of the homeowner. You can do this by coming up with a maintenance schedule.