Hurricane Protection for Florida Homes

Hurricane protection on Florida's Space Coast means keeping wind and flying debris out of every opening in the house, with impact-rated windows and doors, approved shutters or screens, or a mix. The right choice depends on your budget, whether anyone will be home to close shutters, and how exposed your address is. No product guarantees a home comes through a hurricane undamaged or earns an insurance discount.

What matters most on the Space Coast

Every opening counts. Florida's wind mitigation form rates windows, sliders, entry doors, skylights and the garage door, and the weakest opening sets the level. New windows next to an unrated front door or garage door may not reach the rating your insurer credits.

Impact rating and design pressure are separate tests. An impact rating means a product passed the debris tests. A design pressure rating is the wind load it's approved to resist. Every unit needs a Florida product approval or a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance for its size and design pressure, installed the way the approval says. Brevard isn't in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (only Miami-Dade and Broward are), so a Miami-Dade approval isn't required here.

Your address changes the answer. In the wind-borne debris region, glass openings must be impact-resistant or covered by approved protection. Under the 2023 Florida Building Code, the region takes in areas within one mile of the coast where open water lies upwind and the design wind speed is 130 mph or more, plus anywhere it's 140 mph or more. A Melbourne Beach home can get a different answer than one in Palm Bay, so check Brevard County's wind speed maps and ask your building department.

Shutters need someone to close them. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, when many seasonal owners are away, and the barrier island is in Brevard's Evacuation Zone A, which must evacuate when a hurricane threatens. Impact glass protects with nobody home. Neither option stops storm surge.

Where to start

• If you're comparing options, start with impact windows vs. hurricane shutters, or impact windows vs. hurricane screens for fabric screens.
• If you're budgeting, start with impact window costs in Brevard County or the statewide impact window cost guide, then hurricane shutter costs and impact front door costs.
• If you're beachside or away in summer, read are impact windows worth it on the Space Coast? and corrosion-resistant windows and doors.
• If you want a lower premium, start with wind mitigation inspections and whether shutters lower insurance costs. The roof is a large part of the same form, so ask your agent whether a roof replacement would save more.
• If you're ready to hire, read window replacement permits in Melbourne and hurricane codes and product approval.
• If a storm has hit, read avoiding storm repair scams before you sign anything.

What drives the cost

Impact units are priced per opening: our Florida planning ranges put a standard impact window at about $900–$1,800 installed, a two-panel slider at $2,500–$6,000 and a single impact front door at $2,500–$5,000. Shutters are priced per square foot of opening, from about $7–$15 for storm panels to $50–$120 for motorized roll-downs.

For eight standard windows and a two-panel slider, our comparison guide works out about $9,700–$20,500 for impact units, against $1,200–$2,600 for storm panels or $2,600–$6,200 for accordion shutters.

Quotes also move with each opening's design pressure (it can be higher on lots facing open water), stucco and buck repairs, salt-air finishes and hardware.

Rules to know before you sign

• Permits. Plan on one. Unincorporated Brevard, including Viera, Suntree and Merritt Island, uses the county's doors, windows and shutters permit. Melbourne, Palm Bay, West Melbourne and the beach towns issue their own (see building permits in Brevard County). Florida's under-$7,500 exemption excludes structural work and flood hazard areas and must be requested in writing.
• HOAs. Section 720.3035(6), Florida Statutes, requires an HOA to adopt hurricane protection specifications and bars it from denying a conforming application. See HOA approval in Florida.
• Insurance. Florida law requires insurers' rate filings to include wind mitigation credits but sets no amount. Ask your insurer which opening protection rating it credits before you buy, and book a new inspection after the final permit inspection.
• Code changes. The 9th Edition of the Florida Building Code takes effect December 31, 2026, so ask whether quoted products are approved under it.

What to watch for

• Quotes without a product approval number and design pressure for every opening.
• Coastal warranty terms that exclude salt damage, shorten coverage near salt water or require regular cleaning.
• Waiting for a storm in the forecast. Custom impact units often take several weeks or more to order, and the permit adds time.