Storm Panels
The cheapest rated protection you can put on an opening. They work, and they ask something of you in return.
Storm panels bolt onto tracks or anchors around the opening before a storm and come off afterwards. They are stored in the garage the rest of the year. That is the whole product, and it is why they cost a fraction of anything else on this site.
Steel or clear — those are the two
Steel panels
What most people actually get. Corrugated galvanized steel, and the strongest protection per dollar you can buy for an opening. The trade is weight: steel panels are heavy to carry, heavy to lift overhead, and they block the light completely. Keep the coating intact — a deep scratch in salt air is where rust starts.
Clear Lexan panels
Polycarbonate rather than metal, so daylight still comes through. If the idea of sitting in a completely dark house for three days is what has put you off panels, this is the answer. Lighter to handle than steel, and more expensive. Florida Product Approval FL28390.
Aluminum panels exist, and we rarely sell them. They come up occasionally, sometimes painted to match a house. They are lighter than steel and cost more for less strength, which is why steel and Lexan account for nearly all of what goes out. If you want aluminum, we can do it — Florida Product Approval FL11964 — but ask us why first.
The honest trade
Somebody has to put them up. Every panel, every opening, on a ladder, in the hours before a storm — and take them down again afterwards. Steel panels in particular are genuinely heavy. If you are seasonal, travel, or are not physically up for that, panels are the wrong product no matter how good the price is. That is not a sales line; it is the single most common reason people replace them.
When panels are the right call
- Budget is the deciding factor and the alternative is leaving openings unprotected. Rated panels beat nothing by a distance.
- A rental or second property where nobody is living behind the openings day to day.
- Openings you rarely use — a side window, a garage, a workshop.
- Filling gaps in a house that is otherwise protected. Plenty of our jobs are screens on the lanai, shutters on the main windows and panels on the two awkward ones.
When to spend more
| If | Look at |
|---|---|
| You want it closed without going outside | Roll-down shutters |
| It is a wide lanai opening | Hurricane screens |
| You want the best value across a lot of windows, without deploying panels | FSS Accordion Shutters |
| The windows are being replaced anyway | Impact windows and doors |
Permitted like anything else
Panels are rated opening protection, which means the product needs a current Florida Product Approval for the wind zone at your address, and the tracks and anchors are permitted and inspected. Cheap does not mean unregulated.
Talk to us about your openings — Southwest Florida
Tell us what you are looking at and someone from our team will call you the same business day. We go through it on the phone first — your openings, the products that actually fit, what is involved — and if it is a fit we come out and put a written quote in your hand. No charge and no obligation.
Storm panel questions
Are storm panels steel or aluminum?
Nearly always steel, or clear Lexan polycarbonate if you want daylight through them. Aluminum panels exist and are occasionally painted to match a house, but they cost more for less strength than steel, so they are rarely specified.
Are storm panels as strong as shutters?
Rated panels are tested opening protection and carry a Florida Product Approval, same as any shutter. The difference is not strength, it is convenience — panels have to be carried out, bolted on and taken down again.
What is the difference between steel and clear panels?
Steel is corrugated galvanized metal — the strongest protection per dollar, and it blocks the light completely. Clear Lexan is polycarbonate, so daylight comes through and the house does not go dark for the duration of a storm. Lexan is lighter to handle and costs more.
How heavy are steel panels?
Heavy enough that it matters. Carrying and lifting a full house of steel panels overhead is real work, and it is the honest downside of the product. Lexan is lighter if that is a concern.
How long do they take to put up?
It depends on how many openings and how high they are. Budget real time and daylight, and do not leave it to the morning of.
Where do I store them?
Usually a garage or a shed. They stack flat, but a full house of panels takes up more room than people expect, which is worth thinking about before you buy.
Do storm panels need a permit?
Yes. The panels must carry a current Florida Product Approval rated for your address, and the tracks and anchors are permitted and inspected like any other opening protection.
Can I mix panels with other products?
Very commonly, and it is often the smartest way to spend a budget — screens on the lanai, shutters on the main windows, panels on the awkward or rarely used openings.
More questions? Our full hurricane shutter & screen FAQ covers products, service, permitting and financing.
Florida Screen & Shutter, LLC · 883 NE 27th Ln #5, Cape Coral, FL 33909 · (239) 409-0426
License #SCC131152867 · Fully Licensed & Insured Florida Contractor · MagnaTrack President’s Club, #6 in the country, 2025