Grant County, IN Insulation Payback
Grant County attic insulation, by the numbers
Grant County sits in IECC climate zone 5 (Cold) — a real winter that drives most of the annual energy bill here. For a currently uninsulated attic, DOE and ENERGY STAR recommend building 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 $1,756 a year — payback in roughly 2 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Heating vs. cooling in Grant County
Split it out and it's roughly $1,625 a year on the heating side, $131 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Grant County lands in the 70th percentile nationally. Zone 5 alone covers 745 counties in this dataset, and Grant County comes in 373rd by savings. Indiana averages $1,634/year across the counties tracked here; Grant County comes in 7% higher.
Grant County's actual weather, not a national average
The heating and cooling degree days behind this estimate — 6,079 HDD and 813 CDD (base 65°F, 1991-2020 normals) — come from MARION 2 N, IN US, the nearest NOAA station with published normals, 4.4 miles from Grant County's center. That combined heating-and-cooling load ranks Grant County 985th nationally by total degree days — the 69th percentile. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Grant County sits in moisture regime A (humid), 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 $256/year saved (~8.9-year payback). Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Getting it done in Grant 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 Grant County's estimated $1,756/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
Grant 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.