Crawford County, IN Insulation Payback
Crawford County attic insulation, by the numbers
Crawford County, Indiana is zone 4 under DOE's climate map (Mixed-Humid), which means a genuine mix of cold winters and humid summers, with neither one dominating the bill. An uninsulated attic there should be built 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 $1,395 a year in heating and cooling — a payback around 2.5 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Heating vs. cooling in Crawford County
Split it out and it's roughly $1,186 a year on the heating side, $209 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Crawford County lands in the 45th percentile nationally. Zone 4 alone covers 825 counties in this dataset, and Crawford County comes in 399th by savings. Indiana averages $1,634/year across the counties tracked here; Crawford County comes in 15% lower.
The climate data behind this
NOAA's ENGLISH, IN US station, 1.7 miles from Crawford County, supplies the 4,436 HDD and 1,302 CDD this estimate runs on. Combined heating and cooling load puts Crawford County in the 46th percentile of this 3,162-county dataset. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Crawford 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 $204/year saved (~11.2-year payback). Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Getting it done in Crawford County
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 Crawford County's estimated $1,395/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
Crawford 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.