Totally agree. I have my original Andersen (upgraded a notch) double hung windows that are now 24 years old. Had an energy audit done. The guy told me my windows were fine..no replacement needed. LOL, I couldn't have afforded it anyway!

@Jane, just out of curiosity, why did you have an energy audit done and did you feel it was worth it -- meaning, did you get sounds advice and feedback that was helpful in managing your energy use?

I had the energy audit done because I'm hemorraghing (sp?) money to BGE. It was done by a company subcontracted by BGE. The cost was zilch, tho they say it will be $45...still cheap. The man who did the audit couldn't have been nicer. He and I combed throughout my whole house. He replaced my hot water heater blanket (free) and showed me the proper way to do it...I had it on wrong. He replaced all of my faucet aerators..free. He left me about half a dozen curly cue lightbulbs..free.

I've done everything I can think of so that I don't waste energy, right on down to adding insulation pads (found at Lowe's, etc.) behind all of my electrical outlets located on outside walls.. Only one very small thing was found that could be improved upon, having to do with gaps in some of the duct work. He also suggested having my windows tinted (this can be done in clear tinting nowadays). He said to make it affordable, I could do only a couple at a time, for example.

Was it worth it? You betcha it was! Did he give me sound advice and suggestions? Absolutely!

Thanks for sharing your experience Jane! Speaking on behalf of emPower MD and BG&E's Home Performance w/Energy Star Program, we are dedicated to helping MD homeowners save money on their energy bills and lower our State's demand on the electrical grid. There are SO MUCH rebate money available to BG&E customers to make energy improvements on there homes. Feel free to call me at Holistic Home Energy or any of BG&E's participating contractors to find out how to SAVE!!!

As a point of note, none of the Home Performance w/Energy Star or Quick Home Energy Check-up Contractors are "sub-contracted" by BG&E. We are ALL privately owned contractors who specialize in energy audits & home performance. We've spent many years getting trained & licensed in our field which has allowed us to meet the requirements of the Energy Star Program that BG&E and MANY other utilities across the country use. These programs and rebates are YOUR money NOT BG&E's money that they are giving back out of the kindness of their hearts. All the MD utilities are required by the emPower MD Law to put these programs together to help Marylanders reduce their energy bills. It is the rate payer's money and hard working Maryland business owners making these programs happen, helping save you from wasting money each month and lowering our energy demand as a State and Country!

I lived through 5 winters with original 1927 (rope pulled) windows....there was definitely a draft coming from the windows.....Brrrrrr!

Brrrrrr is right! Those were some OLD windows...wow! Bet you didn't have storm windows either.

It's really a shame that most of the homes built in the last 20+ years were not built to offer real energy savings. The vast majority were built to minimum standards at best... forcing folks to spend to save... odd cycle.

On the contrary, my home is quite well built (1987) along with being custom built. My late husband was onsite twice a day, before and after work, so he observed its construction from the ground up. Our first home was a tract house, built in 1978 (we were its original owners). Believe it or not, it too was quality built, though not custom built. We only moved because of the growth and traffic in the community and some absentee landlords who neglected their homes, as did their tenants...when the renters behind us got busted for drugs, that was IT.

We were energy conscious even back then as we both hated the electric bill, lol! We had the Andersens upgraded, extra insulation sprayed into the attic, extra insulation in the walls, insulation between the first floor and the basement and whatever else was available at the time. It was well worth a little extra money. Even when we finished the basement into a family room, we sealed the block walls (imagine that, block walls!), sealed the floor and when the walls were studded out, we glued insulation to the block walls.

The only 'error' we made was having a working fireplace. It's now closed down and I put candles in it...it was like having a chimney sucking all the heat out :( It was great to use for a number of years, though.

Since then, he and I have been adding other relatively inexpensive energy saving things, like a blanket for the hot water heater, just to name one. The man who inspected my house informed me that it wasn't on correctly. The top of the heater needed to be covered also. He fixed that with a completely new blanket!
But, yes, unfortunately many, many houses were shoddily built.

The funniest thing that happened one morning was the time my husband arrived onsite and the contractor was getting ready to asphalt the driveway. My husband pointed out that it was being put in the wrong place. He held up the whole project! All the asphalt trucks, the people, the whole shebang. Upon checking things out, it was found my husband was right and this was corrected.

In the evenings, he (and sometimes I) would come and he always had his Stanley tape measure. He measured EVERYthing. I had to really laugh because he discovered the house had an extra square foot of living space all around. The builder's wife was none too happy, but there was nothing she could do about it; the contract was signed, sealed and delivered. I was the one leaving sticky notes about things located in the wrong places, etc.

BTW, my husband died in 2003...I've still been adding energy efficient stuff. If my husband saw one of my electric bills today, he'd go nuclear!

Worth noting that old windows on old houses are important historic features, and were built to last! the National Park Service did research years ago that supports Mr. Schmidt's comments that window replacement in one fo the least cost-effective ways to save energy. They concluded that properly-maintained wooden windows with storms were every bit as efficient as modern replacements.
Look here http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/briefs/brief09.htm for info on maintaining old windows, and here: http://w3.gsa.gov/web/p/HPTP.NSF/gsagovAllProceduresDisplay/0110004S for information on conserving energy in old buildings.
Plus, how green is it to replace windows made from natural materials with new ones made from vinyl and aluminum?

Thanks @Westmonster & @Buck for your posts! @Buck is spot on in his comments that many of the energy saving products promoted by our government & industry are not natural and certainly not "green". For example, most of the spray foam insulation on the market contains petroleum as a main ingredient. Shocker that our government would promote, huh :-)

We use an amazing spray insulation product called AirKrete. It has the same insulation and air sealing properties as the polyurethane spray foam but is environmentally safe, non-toxic insulation and free of cfc's, formaldehyde & petroleum. Unlike spray foam that is HIGHLY flammable, AirKrete provides a 2hr rated fire wall. It is so safe and non-toxic, I've actually eaten it. Doesn't taste good but makes a statement. There are many green alternatives to insulating your house while still being environmentally friendly.

It is also important to note that our State of MD emPower MD program called Home Performance w/Energy Star provides 50% rebates from BG&E and allows for green insulation. And, if the proposed Federal Tax Credit 25e gets passed it would offer tax credits up to $5000 for homeowners to install qualified energy efficient measures in their homes which would include green, environmentally safe products.

Is AirKrete a soy based foam ??

@ energy: You sound as if you want to sell us something, LOLOL!