Blair County, PA Insulation Payback
Blair County attic insulation, by the numbers
Blair County sits in IECC climate zone 5 (Cold) — cold enough that heating, not cooling, is what decides the bill. For a currently uninsulated attic, DOE and ENERGY STAR recommend building up to R-60. Topping up a typical 1,000-square-foot attic from bare joists (R-2) to R-60 runs an estimated $3,480, and saves about $1,681 a year in heating and cooling — a payback around 2.1 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Heating vs. cooling in Blair County
Split it out and it's roughly $1,569 a year on the heating side, $112 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Blair County lands in the 65th percentile nationally. Zone 5 alone covers 745 counties in this dataset, and Blair County comes in 517th by savings. Pennsylvania averages $1,724/year across the counties tracked here; Blair County comes in 2% lower.
Where these numbers come from
Blair County's climate figures — 5,868 heating and 699 cooling degree days a year — are read from ALTOONA 7 SW, PA US, 8 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. That combined heating-and-cooling load ranks Blair County 1169th nationally by total degree days — the 63th percentile. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Blair County sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
If the attic isn't bare
A shallower starting point changes the math: with R-11 already down, only the gap to R-49 needs filling, at roughly $2,280 for an estimated $245/year saved (~9.3-year payback). Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Quotes and materials for this job
Get more than one quote before committing. Attic access and any needed air sealing move the price around, and most contractors won't take a job below roughly $600 regardless of size - worth asking upfront given Blair County's estimated $1,681/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
Blair County's R-60 target and its degree-day figures both come from named federal sources - see the methodology guide for exactly which ones. The guide to what R-value actually means explains why R-60 is the target here specifically.