Menifee County, KY Insulation Payback
Menifee County attic insulation, by the numbers
DOE classifies Menifee County as climate zone 4, mixed-humid — a genuine mix of cold winters and humid summers, with neither one dominating the bill. Its recommended attic R-value for bare joists is 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 2.4 years at an estimated $1,434/year saved. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Heating vs. cooling in Menifee County
Split it out and it's roughly $1,265 a year on the heating side, $170 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Menifee County lands in the 48th percentile nationally. Zone 4 alone covers 825 counties in this dataset, and Menifee County comes in 304th by savings. Kentucky averages $1,385/year across the counties tracked here; Menifee County comes in 4% higher.
Menifee County's actual weather, not a national average
Menifee County's climate figures — 4,730 heating and 1,057 cooling degree days a year — are read from CAVE RUN LAKE, KY US, 13.3 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. That combined heating-and-cooling load ranks Menifee County 1678th nationally by total degree days — the 47th percentile. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Menifee County sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
The smaller top-up scenario
Already have a few inches up there? Topping R-11 up to R-49 runs about $2,280 for about $209/year saved — roughly 10.9 years to break even. 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 Menifee County's estimated $1,434/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
Menifee 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.