Accomack County, VA Insulation Payback
Accomack County attic insulation, by the numbers
Accomack County sits in IECC climate zone 4 (Mixed-Humid) — heating load in winter and cooling load in summer, both worth taking seriously here. 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 $1,210 a year in heating and cooling — a payback around 2.9 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Heating vs. cooling in Accomack County
Split it out and it's roughly $979 a year on the heating side, $231 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Accomack County lands in the 32th percentile nationally. Zone 4 alone covers 825 counties in this dataset, and Accomack County comes in 737th by savings. Virginia averages $1,342/year across the counties tracked here; Accomack County comes in 10% lower.
Where these numbers come from
Accomack County's climate figures — 3,660 heating and 1,440 cooling degree days a year — are read from PAINTER 2 W, VA US, 13 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. Combined heating and cooling load puts Accomack County in the 29th percentile of this 3,162-county dataset. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Accomack County sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
The smaller top-up scenario
If Accomack 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 $176/year — payback about 12.9 years. Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Next steps for a Accomack County attic
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 Accomack County job, not a quote. Expect at least a $600 minimum charge from most contractors.
Where these figures come from
Accomack 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.