Monroe County, PA Insulation Payback
Monroe County attic insulation, by the numbers
Monroe County sits in IECC climate zone 5 (Cold) — winters that dominate the energy bill, with cooling a minor factor. For a currently uninsulated attic, DOE and ENERGY STAR recommend building up to R-60. Going from R-2 to the recommended R-60 costs roughly $3,480 installed for a typical attic (about 1,000 sq ft), and pays for itself in about 1.8 years at an estimated $1,984/year saved. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
The breakdown behind the number
Split it out and it's roughly $1,938 a year on the heating side, $46 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Monroe County lands in the 81th percentile nationally. Zone 5 alone covers 745 counties in this dataset, and Monroe County comes in 59th by savings. Pennsylvania averages $1,724/year across the counties tracked here; Monroe County comes in 15% higher.
Where these numbers come from
Monroe County's climate figures — 7,247 heating and 289 cooling degree days a year — are read from MT POCONO MOUNTAINS AP, PA US, 6.3 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. Combined heating and cooling load puts Monroe County in the 80th percentile of this 3,162-county dataset. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Monroe County sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
The smaller top-up scenario
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 $289/year saved (~7.9-year payback). Worth doing on the numbers alone.
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 Monroe County's estimated $1,984/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
Monroe 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.