Morgan County, AL Insulation Payback
Morgan County, AL: what topping up your attic actually costs
Morgan County sits in IECC climate zone 3 (Mixed-Humid) — heating load in winter and cooling load in summer, both worth taking seriously here. For a currently uninsulated attic, DOE and ENERGY STAR recommend building up to R-49. Going from R-2 to the recommended R-49 costs roughly $2,820 installed for a typical attic (about 1,000 sq ft), and pays for itself in about 2.6 years at an estimated $1,088/year saved. That's about as fast as attic paybacks get.
Where the savings come from
The estimated savings split roughly $809/year heating, $280/year cooling. Out of every 100 US counties tracked here, Morgan County's savings potential beats roughly 24 of them. Within zone 3 specifically, it ranks 264th of 690 counties by estimated savings. Alabama averages $1,001/year across the counties tracked here; Morgan County comes in 9% higher.
Morgan County's actual weather, not a national average
NOAA's DECATUR 4SE, AL US station, 9.7 miles from Morgan County, supplies the 3,048 HDD and 1,754 CDD this estimate runs on. Combined heating and cooling load puts Morgan County in the 20th percentile of this 3,162-county dataset. Morgan County falls in DOE's moisture regime A (humid), a detail that affects vapor-barrier recommendations more than the R-value target itself.
If the attic isn't bare
A shallower starting point changes the math: with R-11 already down, only the gap to R-38 needs filling, at roughly $1,620 for an estimated $147/year saved (~11.1-year payback). This one is a genuine toss-up, not a clear yes.
Quotes and materials for this job
Real bids depend on how easy the attic is to reach and whether old insulation needs removing first, so treat $2,820 as a starting estimate for a Morgan County job, not a quote. Expect at least a $600 minimum charge from most contractors.
Nothing here is a guess
Every figure on this page traces to DOE/IECC climate zones and NOAA degree-day normals, documented in the methodology guide. The guide to what R-value actually means explains why R-49 is the target here specifically.