Craig County, VA Insulation Payback
Craig County attic insulation, by the numbers
Craig County, Virginia is zone 4 under DOE's climate map (Mixed-Humid), which means real heating and real cooling seasons both, roughly balanced across the year. An uninsulated attic there should be built 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 2.6 years at an estimated $1,348/year saved. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
The breakdown behind the number
Split it out and it's roughly $1,185 a year on the heating side, $163 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Craig County lands in the 42th percentile nationally. Zone 4 alone covers 825 counties in this dataset, and Craig County comes in 491st by savings. Virginia averages $1,342/year across the counties tracked here; Craig County comes in 0% higher.
Craig County's actual weather, not a national average
The heating and cooling degree days behind this estimate — 4,432 HDD and 1,014 CDD (base 65°F, 1991-2020 normals) — come from ROANOKE 8 N, VA US, the nearest NOAA station with published normals, 16.8 miles from Craig County's center. That combined heating-and-cooling load ranks Craig County 1945th nationally by total degree days — the 39th percentile. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Craig County sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
If the attic isn't bare
Already have a few inches up there? Topping R-11 up to R-49 runs about $2,280 for about $197/year saved — roughly 11.6 years to break even. Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
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 Craig County's estimated $1,348/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
Craig 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.