Jewell County, KS Insulation Payback
Jewell County attic insulation, by the numbers
DOE classifies Jewell County as climate zone 5, cold — a real winter that drives most of the annual energy bill here. Its recommended attic R-value for bare joists is 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 $1,785 a year — payback in roughly 1.9 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Where the savings come from
Split it out and it's roughly $1,598 a year on the heating side, $187 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Jewell County lands in the 71th percentile nationally. Zone 5 alone covers 745 counties in this dataset, and Jewell County comes in 327th by savings. Kansas averages $1,594/year across the counties tracked here; Jewell County comes in 12% higher.
The climate data behind this
The heating and cooling degree days behind this estimate — 5,976 HDD and 1,167 CDD (base 65°F, 1991-2020 normals) — come from MANKATO, KS US, the nearest NOAA station with published normals, 1.3 miles from Jewell County's center. That combined heating-and-cooling load ranks Jewell County 816th nationally by total degree days — the 74th percentile. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Jewell County sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
If the attic isn't bare
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 $260/year saved (~8.8-year payback). Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Next steps for a Jewell County attic
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 Jewell County, not a bid - contractors typically charge a $600 minimum regardless of job size.
Where these figures come from
Jewell 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.