Innovation in Sustainable Product: Indow Windows
By Christina Williams
Editor, Sustainable Business Oregon
You can’t have a conversation about energy without mentioning the other e-word: efficiency.
Energy efficiency has risen in Oregon to become both sustainability imperative and an economic driver for the region, creating jobs and shrinking utility bills in its wake.
And one Portland company took an innovative, elegant solution for home energy efficiency and built a business out of it, going from zero to 13 employees in less than a year.
Indow Windows sells customized window inserts that meet energy-efficiency and noise-reduction goals. Led by CEO Sam Pardue, the startup opened its North Portland manufacturing facility in November.
To learn more about Indow Window's manufacturing process, check out the Sustainable Business Oregon slideshow, Indow Windows takes a custom approach to home energy efficiency.
“Our mission is to maximize carbon reduction,” Pardue said. “Windows are a huge source of energy loss.”
The company also fit out its headquarters with an eye to sustainability, putting in a reflective roof to keep the building cool and using environmentally friendly paint and carpet to make it homey. And Indow Windows doesn’t limit its concern with efficiency to its product. Eliminating waste in manufacturing is also an important goal.
“Every week we improve part of the manufacturing process,” Pardue said. “We’re continuously optimizing the system. It’s all about the flow of information.”
With some 43 percent of U.S. windows still sporting single panes, Indow Windows is going after the homeowner who wants to save energy, but might not have the money or the desire to replace windows.
Patty Spencer, owner of Portland-based Fresh Air Sash and Cord Repair Inc. specializes in historic window repairs and passes occasional leads on to Indow Windows.
“A lot of people don’t realize there are a lot of options (beyond tearing out historic windows),” Spencer said. “It’s fabulous that people have that choice.”
Indow Windows is working through window treatment dealers and contractors including the home performance division at Neil Kelly to find customers. Pardue said he’s working on getting certified by the Energy Trust of Oregon wh would allow Indow Windows to be offered as a window option though the Clean Energy Works program, which performs energy audits and helps finance efficiency improvements around the state.
The Indow Window inserts, which were designed to mimic the seal of a refrigerator door, run about $13 per square foot.
“Rather than replacing a single-pane window with a double-pane and all the disruption and lead paint issues that can raise, Indow Windows can, relatively quickly, do a custom measurement,” said David Sailor, Portland State University professor of mechanical and materials engineering. “Then they go away, build the windows and come back and do a couple-hour install. It’s a non-disruptive process but it’s a custom product.”
Sailor, who is also head of the school’s Green Building Research Laboratory, worked with Indow Windows to test the product’s thermal performance.
The results, Sailor said, were promising. But, being a researcher, he wanted to know more and so partnered with the company to secure a commercialization grant from the Oregon Built Environment and Sustainable Technology Center (Oregon BEST) to do some further testing and computer modeling that will help Indow Windows market its product in new regions.
And while his company is for now keeping busy just with the Portland market, Pardue definitely has his sights set on expansion with deals brewing in several other states and inquiries coming from other corners of the globe.
The former president of the Portland camera accessory company LensBaby, Pardue funded Indow Windows himself and with the help of friends and family. He’s now looking for $1 million from angel investors to fund further expansion.
“We’re trying to channel Starbucks, not Stumptown,” Pardue said. “I love Stumptown coffee but as business, we’re working to go national and global as fast as we can.”
christinawilliams@bizjournals.com | 503.219.3438 | @SustainableBzOR
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