Tuscarawas County, OH Insulation Payback
Tuscarawas County, OH: what topping up your attic actually costs
Tuscarawas County sits in IECC climate zone 5 (Cold) — a real winter that drives most of the annual energy bill here. 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 2.2 years at an estimated $1,614/year saved. That's about as fast as attic paybacks get.
The breakdown behind the number
The estimated savings split roughly $1,489/year heating, $125/year cooling. Out of every 100 US counties tracked here, Tuscarawas County's savings potential beats roughly 60 of them. Within zone 5 specifically, it ranks 627th of 745 counties by estimated savings. Ohio averages $1,669/year across the counties tracked here; Tuscarawas County comes in 3% lower.
The climate data behind this
Tuscarawas County's climate figures — 5,569 heating and 779 cooling degree days a year — are read from NEW PHILADELPHIA FLD, OH US, 3 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. Combined heating and cooling load puts Tuscarawas County in the 59th percentile of this 3,162-county dataset. Tuscarawas County falls in DOE's moisture regime A (humid), a detail that affects vapor-barrier recommendations more than the R-value target itself.
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 $235/year saved (~9.7-year payback). This one is a genuine toss-up, not a clear yes.
Quotes and materials for this job
Real bids depend on how easy the attic is to reach and whether old insulation needs removing first, so treat $3,480 as a starting estimate for a Tuscarawas County job, not a quote. Expect at least a $600 minimum charge from most contractors.
Nothing here is a guess
Every figure on this page traces to DOE/IECC climate zones and NOAA degree-day normals, documented in the methodology guide. The guide to what R-value actually means explains why R-60 is the target here specifically.