Dubois County, IN Insulation Payback
Dubois County attic insulation, by the numbers
Dubois County sits in IECC climate zone 4 (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-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 2.4 years at an estimated $1,431/year saved. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Where the savings come from
Split it out and it's roughly $1,184 a year on the heating side, $247 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Dubois County lands in the 48th percentile nationally. Zone 4 alone covers 825 counties in this dataset, and Dubois County comes in 314th by savings. Indiana averages $1,634/year across the counties tracked here; Dubois County comes in 12% lower.
Where these numbers come from
The heating and cooling degree days behind this estimate — 4,427 HDD and 1,537 CDD (base 65°F, 1991-2020 normals) — come from PATOKA LAKE, IN US, the nearest NOAA station with published normals, 10.2 miles from Dubois County's center. That combined heating-and-cooling load ranks Dubois County 1552nd nationally by total degree days — the 51th percentile. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Dubois County sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
The smaller top-up scenario
Already have a few inches up there? Topping R-11 up to R-49 runs about $2,280 for about $209/year saved — roughly 10.9 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 Dubois County, not a bid - contractors typically charge a $600 minimum regardless of job size.
Where these figures come from
Dubois 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.