Fulton County, OH Insulation Payback
Fulton County attic insulation, by the numbers
Fulton County, Ohio is zone 5 under DOE's climate map (Cold), which means winters that dominate the energy bill, with cooling a minor factor. An uninsulated attic there should be built 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 1.9 years at an estimated $1,824/year saved. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
The breakdown behind the number
Split it out and it's roughly $1,714 a year on the heating side, $110 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Fulton County lands in the 73th percentile nationally. Zone 5 alone covers 745 counties in this dataset, and Fulton County comes in 259th by savings. Ohio averages $1,669/year across the counties tracked here; Fulton County comes in 9% higher.
Fulton County's actual weather, not a national average
The heating and cooling degree days behind this estimate — 6,410 HDD and 683 CDD (base 65°F, 1991-2020 normals) — come from WAUSEON WTP, OH US, the nearest NOAA station with published normals, 5.6 miles from Fulton County's center. By total degree days, Fulton County sits at the 73th percentile nationally. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Fulton County sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
If the attic isn't bare
If Fulton 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 $266/year — payback about 8.6 years. Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Quotes and materials for this job
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 Fulton County's estimated $1,824/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
Fulton 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.