Fillmore County, MN Insulation Payback
Fillmore County attic insulation, by the numbers
Fillmore County, Minnesota is zone 6 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. 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 $2,253 a year in heating and cooling — a payback around 1.5 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Where the savings come from
Split it out and it's roughly $2,180 a year on the heating side, $73 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Fillmore County lands in the 92th percentile nationally. Zone 6 alone covers 459 counties in this dataset, and Fillmore County comes in 136th by savings. Minnesota averages $2,366/year across the counties tracked here; Fillmore County comes in 5% lower.
The climate data behind this
Fillmore County's climate figures — 8,153 heating and 452 cooling degree days a year — are read from PRESTON, MN US, 1.1 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. Combined heating and cooling load puts Fillmore County in the 92th percentile of this 3,162-county dataset. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Fillmore County sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
Already have some insulation?
If Fillmore County's attic already has 3-4 inches of old insulation (about R-11) rather than bare joists, the recommended target drops to R-49. That smaller top-up costs around $2,280 and saves an estimated $329/year — payback about 6.9 years. Worth doing on the numbers alone.
Getting it done in Fillmore 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 Fillmore County's estimated $2,253/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
Fillmore 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.