Morgan County, OH Insulation Payback
Morgan County attic insulation, by the numbers
Morgan County, Ohio is zone 5 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. 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 2.2 years at an estimated $1,584/year saved. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
The breakdown behind the number
Split it out and it's roughly $1,455 a year on the heating side, $128 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Morgan County lands in the 58th percentile nationally. Zone 5 alone covers 745 counties in this dataset, and Morgan County comes in 657th by savings. Ohio averages $1,669/year across the counties tracked here; Morgan County comes in 5% lower.
The climate data behind this
Morgan County's climate figures — 5,443 heating and 800 cooling degree days a year — are read from MC CONNELLSVILLE LK 7, OH US, 1.9 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. That combined heating-and-cooling load ranks Morgan County 1361st nationally by total degree days — the 57th percentile. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Morgan County sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
Already have some insulation?
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 $231/year saved (~9.9-year payback). 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 Morgan County's estimated $1,584/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
Morgan 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.