Daggett County, UT Insulation Payback
Daggett County attic insulation, by the numbers
DOE classifies Daggett County as climate zone 6, cold — cold enough that heating, not cooling, is what decides the bill. Its recommended attic R-value for bare joists is 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 $2,007 a year in heating and cooling — a payback around 1.7 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Heating vs. cooling in Daggett County
Split it out and it's roughly $1,952 a year on the heating side, $56 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Daggett County lands in the 82th percentile nationally. Zone 6 alone covers 459 counties in this dataset, and Daggett County comes in 389th by savings. Utah averages $1,791/year across the counties tracked here; Daggett County comes in 12% higher.
The climate data behind this
Daggett County's climate figures — 7,300 heating and 346 cooling degree days a year — are read from FLAMING GORGE, UT US, 5.7 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. Combined heating and cooling load puts Daggett County in the 81th percentile of this 3,162-county dataset. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Daggett County sits in moisture regime B (dry), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
Already have some insulation?
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 $293/year saved (~7.8-year payback). Worth doing on the numbers alone.
Quotes and materials for this job
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 Daggett County job, not a quote. Expect at least a $600 minimum charge from most contractors.
Where these figures come from
Daggett 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.