Moffat County, CO Insulation Payback

Moffat County attic insulation, by the numbers

Moffat County, Colorado is zone 6 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. 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 $2,342 a year — payback in roughly 1.5 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.

Heating vs. cooling in Moffat County

Split it out and it's roughly $2,318 a year on the heating side, $24 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Moffat County lands in the 94th percentile nationally. Zone 6 alone covers 459 counties in this dataset, and Moffat County comes in 69th by savings. Colorado averages $2,043/year across the counties tracked here; Moffat County comes in 15% higher.

The climate data behind this

Moffat County's climate figures — 8,669 heating and 148 cooling degree days a year — are read from MAYBELL, CO US, 9.2 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. By total degree days, Moffat County sits at the 94th percentile nationally. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Moffat County sits in moisture regime B (dry), 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 $342/year saved — roughly 6.7 years to break even. Worth doing on the numbers alone.

Next steps for a Moffat 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 Moffat County's estimated $2,342/year on the line.

Where these figures come from

Moffat 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.