Adair County, OK Insulation Payback
Adair County attic insulation, by the numbers
Adair County sits in IECC climate zone 3 (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-49. Topping up a typical 1,000-square-foot attic from bare joists (R-2) to R-49 runs an estimated $2,820, and saves about $1,203 a year in heating and cooling — a payback around 2.3 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Heating vs. cooling in Adair County
Split it out and it's roughly $963 a year on the heating side, $240 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Adair County lands in the 31th percentile nationally. Zone 3 alone covers 690 counties in this dataset, and Adair County comes in 91st by savings. Oklahoma averages $1,260/year across the counties tracked here; Adair County comes in 5% lower.
Adair County's actual weather, not a national average
The heating and cooling degree days behind this estimate — 3,629 HDD and 1,506 CDD (base 65°F, 1991-2020 normals) — come from STILWELL 5 NNW, OK US, the nearest NOAA station with published normals, 0.2 miles from Adair County's center. Combined heating and cooling load puts Adair County in the 30th percentile of this 3,162-county dataset. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Adair 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-38 needs filling, at roughly $1,620 for an estimated $162/year saved (~10-year payback). Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Getting it done in Adair County
Real bids depend on how easy the attic is to reach and whether old insulation needs removing first, so treat $2,820 as a starting estimate for a Adair County job, not a quote. Expect at least a $600 minimum charge from most contractors.
Where these figures come from
Adair County's R-49 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-49 is the target here specifically.