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Oregon’s State Historic Preservation Office is supporting a nation-wide movement among preservationists to save historic windows.

鈥淲hen people think of energy efficiency, new windows immediately come to mind,鈥� said SHPO Restoration Specialist Joy Spears. Spears is among a group of preservationists in the National Window Preservation Standards Collaborative. The group is trying to educate people on techniques to improve energy efficiency of windows without replacing them, a practice that compromises the historic integrity of old homes and buildings.

The group recently convened a conference in Kentucky and plans to release a report in December 2011, outlining the effectiveness of alternatives to replacing heritage windows.

Spears said that some suggested alternatives to completely replacing windows include adding storm windows or weather strips. The group plans to create a book of information to help home owners complete upgrades themselves or enlist a contractor to perform upgrades in a heritage-friendly way.

Spears said that the NWPSC’s ideas are 鈥渘othing new,鈥� but the practice of using storm windows or weather strips has fallen out of favor in upgrades with the new energy-efficiency movement.