Given your situation, it probably is. A good one will use an infrared scanner to identify insulation performance in walls and leaks everywhere.
That may mean there isn’t any. That’ll be a big influence on the point @LSLGuy makes about priorities.
You can drive yourself crazy trying to decide between the 3. Look on line, and you will find people who LOVE and HATE each of them. I think they all make decent windows, and don’t think you can go wrong with any of the 3. And I suggest that whichever you choose, there is a chance that down the line you will experience some issue or another with one or more windows. Just the nature of the beast.
I suggest the most important decision is the installer. Pick one who has been in business for some time, has a good track record, and signs indicate they will be in business for some time to come - when the warranty issues arise. You definitely don’t want to save a couple of hundred $ by going with “some guy with a truck.”
Yeah, only if there are other compelling reasons. Last house I owned had wood rot that was so bad on a couple of windows shortly after I bought it that I literally could stick a finger into the frame in a couple of spots 
. However it was a 1902 ‘Middle-class Victorian’, so replacing them with anything other than more custom wood was out of the question from an aesthetic/value POV.
This article about what to avoid when replacing home windows has saved me a lot of grief: Window Company Scams To Avoid: Red Flags and Smart Hiring Tips
Yup. It’s easy to get that checked by a contractor who will come in with a thermal imaging camera and who may also do a “smoke test” to see where leaks are.
My mother’s cable service has commercials for Renewal by Anderson all the damned time. Dozens of commercials each day. I think they may be targeted, because I also have CNN on most of the day but don’t get those commercials. As it happens, at least five or six windows in her house need to be replaced but we’re probably going to hire a local contractor for this. Some other (double-hung) windows in the house were already replaced and those are the type that tilt in for cleaning.
What can be done about that other than tearing down the walls and putting new drywall up?
And honestly energy savings aren’t even the biggest motivation at this point. The windows weren’t well-maintained and perform poorly. Any open window has to be propped open or it eventually slams shut, even though it seemed tight and secure. And then those damn storm windows take forever to actually open. So it’s a 20 minute ordeal to get enough windows open to get a breeze through the house.
Depending on what’s inside the walls, there are ways to inject either expanding-foam or blown cellulose insulation into older walls through small holes, which then get patched afterwards.
Good answer. A lot of homes have the old batt insulation, which - to some extent - succumbs to gravity over time. The bigger problem is with really old homes that have never been fully renovated. When our Portland home (1904) was renovated down to the bones, it was found to have newspaper for insulation.
My parents’ house had insulation blown into the outside walls sometime around 45 years ago. The installers pulled shingles off the siding, drilled holes between the studs and blew in the insulation. Then they replaced the shingles.
Good to know, they’re generally my last choice of the “big three” so I haven’t spec’d them for a while, but they’re still good. Renewal by Andersen is a different story. They are under the same corporate umbrella, but they operate completely differently, and Renewal is much more spammy and scummy. I don’t have any experience with the finished product though.
Indeed, the local market and who the dealers/reps are makes a big difference. Where I work Marvin is king, but tht also means you’re not getting any deals from them. They’re generally preferred by architects due to the local rep who’s been the same guy for over 30 years, but contractors tend to prefer Pella. Go an hour or two away and it’s completely the opposite. I think Pella makes very good products, but I’ve never had a good experience actually speccing them or dealing with any of the local reps who come and go on almost a monthly basis.
Worked for a windows installation company for a year. A few comments.
Anderson windows will be your most expensive option, just so you know.
In an old house (like mine) you can leave most of the frames in place and install a window ‘unit’ that replaces your old single panes with a new double pane insulated window in the same frame, and not disrupt your house too much. This may be a cost effective way to do it. Old single pane comes out, new insulated unit fits in the same space. Are the old window frames still good? leave them and just replace the old glass with new insulated units. You can have grids put in the units to replicate the old ones.
Putting new windows in an old house often involves the outside siding too. A viny window has a fin running around the window. The proceedure involves removing old siding, installing the new window, tar papering over the fins, and re-siding over the newly sealed frame. Do not be surprised if your replacement of all the windows in an old house also involves residing your house.
If your window frames are good, maybe need new paint, leave them alone and put new insulated units in place of the old single panes. Otherwise you may be looking at completely disrupting a lot of your old house. And you will ge most of the benefits you want.
Similarly, for what it’s worth, Pella (my old client) is a solid company, with a good product, but their window-replacement business is operated by local “branches,” most of which are privately-owned, and operate on a similar business model to Renewal. Some of the local Pella branches are really good, some are…less reputable. YMMV.
The commercials from Renewal by Andersen talk about those Fibrex windows but the Andersen brand windows sold at Home Depot are vinyl-clad wood.
I assume our windows are the originals (house was built in 1944; we bought it in 1999). When I feel around them on really cold days I don’t feel cold air. Our heating bills aren’t too high (we often get notifications that we used less power than average), so we’re inclined to leave well enough alone.
I had this done last year with blown-in insulation. I opted to have them do it from the outside, which was much less disruptive and less expensive than from the inside.