Rich County, UT Insulation Payback
Rich County attic insulation, by the numbers
DOE classifies Rich County as climate zone 6, cold — cold enough that heating, not cooling, is what decides the bill. 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 $2,519 a year — payback in roughly 1.4 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
The breakdown behind the number
Split it out and it's roughly $2,508 a year on the heating side, $11 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Rich County lands in the 98th percentile nationally. Zone 6 alone covers 459 counties in this dataset, and Rich County comes in 9th by savings. Utah averages $1,791/year across the counties tracked here; Rich County comes in 41% higher.
Where these numbers come from
Rich County's climate figures — 9,378 heating and 69 cooling degree days a year — are read from RANDOLPH, UT US, 3.6 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. By total degree days, Rich County sits at the 97th percentile nationally. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Rich County sits in moisture regime B (dry), 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 $367/year saved (~6.2-year payback). Worth doing on the numbers alone.
Getting it done in Rich County
Real bids depend on how easy the attic is to reach and whether old insulation needs removing first, so treat $3,480 as a starting estimate for a Rich County job, not a quote. Expect at least a $600 minimum charge from most contractors.
Where these figures come from
Rich 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.