What are the negatives of impact windows?
The negatives of impact windows are the price and the fact the glass can still break: HomeGuide publishes $400 to $1,200 per window installed.
The price is the biggest one, and it is the easiest to check
HomeGuide prices a hurricane window at $400 to $1,200 each installed, and puts a whole average house at $6,000 to $24,000 for the 10 to 15 windows it says an average home has. Its storm-protection guide prices the same product a second way, at $40 to $70 per square foot installed, which works out to $280 to $490 for the 24-inch by 42-inch opening that guide prices against. Those two figures are from one publisher and they do not agree. Both are printed here; neither is averaged.
| Protection | Published cost per window, installed | Published return on investment |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane (impact) windows | $280 – $490 per 24" x 42" opening | 80% – 86% |
| Hurricane shutters, all types | $35 – $350 | 40% – 50% |
| Plywood shutters | $15 – $35 | No insurance discounts |
| Motorised roll-down shutters | $350 – $1,225 | 40% – 50% |
Source: HomeGuide
That gap is the negative people actually feel. Covering a house in storm panels and covering it in impact glass are the same job done at two different prices, and the cheaper one still meets code in a lot of places.
Put your own window count in and the two published readings come out side by side: the impact window cost calculator.
The glass can still break
This is the negative the sales pitch skips. HomeGuide's storm-protection guide says impact windows withstand high winds and do not shatter, but can still break from flying debris, and that putting shutters over impact windows gives the strongest protection at the highest price. Impact glass is laminated so it holds together when it breaks. Holding together is not the same as not breaking.
Source: HomeGuide
They are permanent, and that cuts both ways
HomeGuide lists impact windows as permanent protection, alongside accordion, Bahama, colonial and roll-down shutters, while aluminium and polycarbonate panels are listed as available either way. Permanent means nothing to put up before a storm and nothing to store. It also means the decision is finished: replacing a window is a construction job, and changing your mind later costs what the job costs.
Source: HomeGuide
The insurance discount is required by law in Florida — the size of it is not published
Florida law says a residential property insurance rate filing must include actuarially reasonable discounts for construction that reduces windstorm loss, and it names opening protection and window strength among the things that qualify. Since October 1, 2023 an insurer also has to describe the hurricane mitigation discounts it offers on its own website. What the law does not do is set a number, and no state agency publishes an average. So the discount is real and it is enforceable; the size of yours comes from your own carrier and nowhere else.
Source: Florida Statutes
Any page that tells you what percentage impact windows will take off your premium is guessing. Ask your carrier for its published mitigation discount sheet instead.
The negatives in Florida specifically
Two things change in Florida and neither is a downside of the product. My Safe Florida Home offers a free wind mitigation inspection and grants of up to $10,000, and lists impact windows and doors among the upgrades a grant can pay for. And HomeGuide notes that some building codes, Florida's among them, require every window to have hurricane protection of some kind. So in Florida the question is rarely whether to protect the opening. It is which protection to buy.
Sources: My Safe Florida Home, HomeGuide
The two numbers nobody publishes
- What impact windows cost where you live. Not one source publishes a state or city multiplier for them, so any regional figure you see was somebody's arithmetic, not a published price.
- How much your premium drops. Florida requires the discount and leaves the amount to the carrier's filing, so only your carrier can tell you.
This is general information, not advice about your house or your policy. Codes, permits and insurance rules differ by state, by county and by carrier, and the only figures that count are the ones on a written quote and on your own policy.
Questions people ask next
- Are impact windows worth it if I already have shutters?
- HomeGuide says shutters are not needed once impact windows are in, and that using both together gives the strongest protection at the highest price. If your shutters are in good order and deploying them is not a problem for you, the storm-protection argument for replacing them is weaker than the noise, security and no-effort arguments.
- Do impact windows break?
- They can. HomeGuide's storm-protection guide says impact windows do not shatter but can still break from flying debris. The laminate holds the pane together, which is what keeps the opening sealed and the roof from pressurising, but the glass itself is not indestructible.
- What is the difference between impact windows and storm windows?
- They are different products at different prices. HomeGuide prices storm windows at $150 to $400 each installed and describes them as a second window fitted over your existing one for noise and insulation, and says plainly that unlike impact windows they do not protect against flying debris or hurricane-force winds.
- Is there a tax credit for impact windows?
- Not for work done now. The Internal Revenue Service says the energy efficient home improvement credit applies to qualifying property placed in service on or after January 1, 2023 and before December 31, 2025, and caps exterior windows and skylights at $600 a year, for products meeting Energy Star Most Efficient requirements. Windows fitted after that date are outside the credit as the agency describes it.
Written for homeowners by Most Recommended Impact Windows, which measures which impact window companies AI assistants actually recommend. Nobody can pay to be on those lists. How we measure.