Lycoming County, PA Insulation Payback
Lycoming County attic insulation, by the numbers
DOE classifies Lycoming County as climate zone 5, cold — cold enough that heating, not cooling, is what decides the bill. Its recommended attic R-value for bare joists is R-60. For an attic around 1,000 square feet, closing the gap from R-2 to R-60 costs around $3,480 and saves an estimated $1,660 a year — payback in roughly 2.1 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Heating vs. cooling in Lycoming County
Split it out and it's roughly $1,517 a year on the heating side, $142 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Lycoming County lands in the 63th percentile nationally. Zone 5 alone covers 745 counties in this dataset, and Lycoming County comes in 555th by savings. Pennsylvania averages $1,724/year across the counties tracked here; Lycoming County comes in 4% lower.
Where these numbers come from
NOAA's WILLIAMSPORT 2, PA US station, 7.6 miles from Lycoming County, supplies the 5,674 HDD and 887 CDD this estimate runs on. That combined heating-and-cooling load ranks Lycoming County 1175th nationally by total degree days — the 63th percentile. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Lycoming County sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
The smaller top-up scenario
If Lycoming County's attic already has 3-4 inches of old insulation (about R-11) rather than bare joists, the recommended target drops to R-49. That smaller top-up costs around $2,280 and saves an estimated $242/year — payback about 9.4 years. Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Getting it done in Lycoming County
Actual quotes will vary by attic access, existing debris, and whether the job needs air sealing first. Treat the $3,480 figure above as a planning number for Lycoming County, not a bid - contractors typically charge a $600 minimum regardless of job size.
Where these figures come from
Lycoming 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.