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With 30 years of experience building and selling windows, Alan Hart-McArthur has become known for his expertise in all things glass.

To the division manager, selling windows is about meeting customers’ needs and providing the best value, even if that means less profit.

That’s why Hart-McArthur, formerly the owner of Versatile Sash and Woodwork Inc., often tells his customers that sometimes 鈥� though not always 鈥� it’s more energy efficient and cost effective to preserve older structures’ original windows rather than replace them. According to him, the and some local contractors, there is a common misconception that new, insulated windows are always the best option.

鈥淭here’s great ability in existing windows to restore,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou can get a very comfortable level of performance with a much lower direct cost.鈥�

Hart-McArthur said the energy associated with the manufacture and installation of new windows, which are commonly made from fossil fuels, can be much greater than for the repair of existing windows. He said that an old wood window sometimes can be repaired by simply adding an aluminum storm window outside and putty inside. Only replacing the glass, and not the whole window, also can be effective, he added.

Hart-McArthur believes an insulated window sometimes can be more expensive, even if its initial cost seems reasonable.

鈥淚 always tell my customers that the direct cost of buying a replacement window is not the whole cost,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f it is a wood product, it’s got to get painted again; if it’s a vinyl product, you have very expensive fossil fuels; if you’re ripping the original wooden window sashes out of the frame, you got landfill and disposal costs.鈥�

Portland’s Architectural Heritage Center has pointed this out recently, hosting workshops to help educate the public and local contractors about the benefits of preserving original windows. Val Ballestrem, education manager at the center, said one emphasis in the workshops was that an old building’s ceilings and walls, if not insulated properly, waste more energy than windows.

He said that insulated windows can be less efficient at preventing air leaks than original windows.

鈥淵ou put this triple-pane window in an old house, and it still leaks around the side because you just can’t fit it no matter what you do,鈥� Ballestrem said. 鈥淥n the other hand, you’ve got a window that was built specifically for that house. It’s lived with that house for 100 years, and if the house is a little off-kilter now, the window has adjusted.鈥�

Carl Thompson, certified home analyst at , believes it’s almost impossible to fully seal air leaks around original windows of old structures because they become off plumb over time. He disagreed with Ballestrem’s statement that insulated windows can’t fit in old homes.

鈥淚 would very much disagree with that 鈥� it’s what we do every day,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s not like we’re taking a Home Depot window and trying to make it fit in a hole; these are custom-made.鈥�

Meanwhile, Mark Urban, owner of , which restores old homes, said insulated windows commonly fail after 20 years and that repair can be difficult.

鈥淭hey’re so expensive to repair; people are going to be like, 鈥榃hy did they ever invent these things?’ 鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think we have a ticking time bomb in American architecture because everybody is using so much more glass than they did 50 years ago, and I think everyone is going to say, 鈥極h my God’ when they get their bill and five of their windows every year have failed.鈥�

But Dylan Aune, owner of , said the energy needed to replace an old window or repair an insulated window is not much.

鈥淥ld wood windows are very easy to change in and out,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n a truck with the right tools, you can change out all the windows in a day 鈥� that’s hardly a use of any energy. I can change out the glass or any of the units (of an insulated window) in 20 minutes.鈥�

Urban said that he and Hart-MacArthur’s former company, Versatile Sash and Woodwork, once collected energy efficiency data for insulated windows and original windows. According to the data, if an aluminum storm window is installed outside of an old window and an energy panel is installed inside, efficiency can be only 15 percent less than for an insulated window.

However, Urban and Hart-McArthur agree that preserving original windows is not always the right option. For instance, the cost and effort to repair unique windows 鈥� such as an antique wavy one 鈥� can be extremely high. Also, insulated windows are far superior for blocking noise.

Hart-McArthur added that Portland’s mild climate also increases the value of preserving original windows. He said that insulated windows are much more effective in extreme weather conditions.

Of course, in the end, it’s the customer’s decision 鈥� not the contractor’s. But Hart-McArthur believes more people are recognizing original windows’ worth.

鈥淚 think the Northwest is becoming a focal point; we’ve seen a pretty strong movement recently of more and more folks to say, 鈥淚 don’t need to tear out and have a full replacement of my existing windows,鈥� he said.