Old House Hack: Making Old Windows More Efficient

If you have a historical home, you typically spend gobs of money replacing drafty windows. Portlander Sam Pardue wasn’t happy with that option, so the serial entrepreneur created the Indow window insert: a custom acrylic panel that fits into an existing interior window frame.

Courtesy of Indow Windows

The panels are made in Portland, and they help reduce noise and energy loss by about 20 percent for a typical Seattle home, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. That’s comparable to a high-end replacement window. The only catch: You can’t open your windows unless you pop out the inserts. But even that is a cinch.