Historic House Museum Gets UV Protection

Artifacts Saved From Fading into the
Past by Museum Window Inserts

Pinellas County Heritage Village is a living history museum, which means history comes alive around you when you visit. You can explore historic homes, schools, and even a general store. Museum employees really want to keep the history of Pinellas County alive, so imagine their disappointment when the very artifacts they sought to bring to light, were being destroyed by it.

The artifacts aren’t just stored inside the house, but the interior features of the historic house museum: the floors, the woodwork, the textiles, the furniture. Everything that the light touches, can be faded by UV rays.

When Heather was hired as Operations Manager at Heritage Village, she immediately noticed the light damage to historic artifacts. “Our main mission here,” Heather says, “is to preserve our artifacts.”

UV rays cause cellulose fibers in fabrics and paper to decompose. That’s what creates the yellow color in artwork and wood that’s had long exposure to sunlight. The employees of Pinellas County Heritage Village have all gone to great lengths to preserve with historical accuracy the details of their county. They weren’t about to let the sun ruin their hard work or that of their ancestors.

Armed with the knowledge of what light damage can do to historic artifacts, and equally concerned with preservation of the historic house, Heather began researching. She found Wood Window Makeover who specializes in Indow window inserts. Indow inserts helped with conserving artifacts and preserving the original windows of the historic museum.

Testimonial

– Heather Colliger, Operations Manager Heritage Village

Read more case studies.

Heather says the whole process was “Really easy, actually. I was really concerned because we are a historic house and we have so many windows here, but the representative Danny Moody came out and explained the product very easily. He answered all of our questions. He even went the extra step and presented all the benefits of Indow window inserts to the board of Historic Society.” A few visits later, and the window inserts were installed. “The installation was really easy. It took him, maybe, half a day,” says Heather.

Other than protecting their irreplaceable historic house objects, Heather notes that their energy bills aren’t as high since Indow window inserts were installed. They also don’t notice the traffic noise from the two busy roads they sit near.

Museum preservation is complex. As Heather noted, air conditioning isn’t historic, but the benefits far outweigh the historical inaccuracy. Indow window inserts provide an easy way to upgrade historic windows, without altering them, so conserving artifacts is built into your space. Museum Grade inserts block 98% of damaging UV rays, but allow natural light through so artifacts can be seen and protected.

We value safety and privacy. We will never share, sell, or rent your data to third parties not directly related to your purchase or consideration of our products. Read our full policy here.