Window Dressers

Want to save money on heating bills? 

Want to insulate your home better and reduce your use of fossil fuels?

WindowDressers create insulating window inserts that let in light while stopping drafts, give your window roughly double the insulation, reduce your greenhouse gas emissions, and lower your energy bills in the winter! Window inserts are custom built for your windows and are simply placed within the window in the winter for added insulation.  No more sticky window sills from one time use plastic coverings! 

WINDOW INSERTS FOR 2023

  • You can sign up online at windowdressers.org or contact the Town's Environmental Services Coordinator (contact on the bottom of the page) if you are interested in buying low-cost insulating window inserts for your home. The inserts are free for those who cannot afford to pay, and low cost for middle and high income households. We are taking orders for 2023. 
  • A team of volunteers will come to your home and measure the windows you would like to have inserts in (please have the locations cleared of blinds and furniture for easy access)
  • If you order inserts, we ask that you attend a build session. WindowDressers keeps their insert-prices exceptionally low (50%-75% cheaper than commercial products) through their non-profit model of cooperative insert-building. This means that customers contribute time at our local Community Builds. We recommend for every 3-5 inserts you order, you attend a 4 hour build shift.
  • All of the inserts are built during October 21-26 in two 4 hour building sessions each day at the Keith Anderson Community House (19 Bennoch Road) in Orono.

WHAT IS AN INSULATING WINDOW INSERT?

"WindowDressers Insulating Window Inserts let in light while stopping drafts. Each insert is made of a custom-made pine frame wrapped on each side with tightly-sealed, clear polyolefin film, creating an airspace between the two layers for additional insulation. The insert is finished with a compressible foam gasket. The foam allows enough give for the inserts to be easily slid into place in the fall and removed in the spring, while holding firmly enough to provide a tight, friction-based seal. The inserts are installed inside of your existing window frame with no fasteners required." - windowdresser.org

A WindowDressers customer is likely to save between 0.5-1 gallon of oil per square foot of insert per year and double the insulation value of the window! That means an insert will pay for itself within 1-2 years. 

The Town of Orono is committed to prioritizing community climate resilience and enacting climate action projects. The Town has recently enrolled in the State of Maine’s Community Resilience Partnership and adopted a resolution of commitment to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the Town of Orono is hosting a WindowDressers event for the greater Bangor area. 

window dressers logo

HOW DO INSERTS WORK?

Conduction: Inserts create two additional sealed air spaces: one space between the insert and the window and the other between the two layers of plastic. This doubles the insulation value of the average window.


Convection: When warm air in the home hits a cold window, the air cools and the cooler air falls to the floor, pushing warmer air upwards. This creates a circular air current in the house that the body feels as a cold air “draft.” Window inserts raise the

temperature that the inside air encounters at the window (due to decreased conduction), reducing that circular air current.


Air Infiltration: Many windows leak at the seams where glass meets  frame, around the movable part of the window, or between the window and the wall. Tightly fitting inserts block air movement through these leaky areas.

Window insert diagram
Window insert building
Image does not exist

Contact For More Information:

  1. Megan Hess

    Environmental Services Coordinator
    Email
    Phone: 207-889-6105