When it comes to historic buildings, the past is always right in front of us. Whether it’s a worn parquet floor or heavy molding or wavy leaded-glass windows, the decisions of people whose lives and daily rhythms shaped the spaces they lived in affect how we move understand our own world today.
No organization understands this better than the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is responsible for saving historic places across the nation. Each year Indow sponsors its annual preservation conference. Threats to historic buildings run the gamut – from people who don’t appreciate them to a lack of resources to maintain them. But the NTHP also recognizes climate change and the peril of rising seas as a danger and has helped foster discussions on the subject.
That’s something Indow deeply cares about and consequently works hard to make the built environment more energy efficient. Commercial and residential buildings account for 41 percent of energy use in the United States. Indow window inserts reduce the energy used in buildings for heating and cooling by 20% without modifying the original windows.
Our efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of historic buildings also save historic windows. Original windows are crucial to preserving the character and history of homes and buildings. A stately 150-year-old structure with new double-pane vinyl windows has lost something significant. Preserving windows that give a slight warp to the world keeps the soul of a building intact, which shapes how we see what’s around us.
We can keep our history and make buildings energy efficient at the same time. Appreciation for the past combined with a vision for the future is all that’s needed.
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