Greeley County, KS Insulation Payback
Greeley County attic insulation, by the numbers
Greeley 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 $1,687 a year — payback in roughly 2.1 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Heating vs. cooling in Greeley County
Split it out and it's roughly $1,518 a year on the heating side, $169 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Greeley County lands in the 65th percentile nationally. Zone 5 alone covers 745 counties in this dataset, and Greeley County comes in 506th by savings. Kansas averages $1,594/year across the counties tracked here; Greeley County comes in 6% higher.
The climate data behind this
Greeley County's climate figures — 5,679 heating and 1,051 cooling degree days a year — are read from TRIBUNE 1W, KS US, 2 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. By total degree days, Greeley County sits at the 66th percentile nationally. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Greeley County sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
The smaller top-up scenario
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 $246/year saved (~9.3-year payback). Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Next steps for a Greeley County attic
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 Greeley County's estimated $1,687/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
Greeley 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.