Crook County, OR Insulation Payback
Crook County attic insulation, by the numbers
Crook County, Oregon is zone 5 under DOE's climate map (Cold), which means a real winter that drives most of the annual energy bill here. An uninsulated attic there should be built up to R-60. For an attic around 1,000 square feet, closing the gap from R-2 to R-60 costs around $3,480 and saves an estimated $1,733 a year — payback in roughly 2 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Where the savings come from
Split it out and it's roughly $1,671 a year on the heating side, $62 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Crook County lands in the 68th percentile nationally. Zone 5 alone covers 745 counties in this dataset, and Crook County comes in 420th by savings. Oregon averages $1,557/year across the counties tracked here; Crook County comes in 11% higher.
The climate data behind this
The heating and cooling degree days behind this estimate — 6,248 HDD and 388 CDD (base 65°F, 1991-2020 normals) — come from BARNES STN, OR US, the nearest NOAA station with published normals, 16.9 miles from Crook County's center. By total degree days, Crook County sits at the 64th percentile nationally. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Crook County sits in moisture regime B (dry), 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 $253/year saved — roughly 9 years to break even. Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Quotes and materials for this job
Actual quotes will vary by attic access, existing debris, and whether the job needs air sealing first. Treat the $3,480 figure above as a planning number for Crook County, not a bid - contractors typically charge a $600 minimum regardless of job size.
Where these figures come from
Crook 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.