Scott County, KS Insulation Payback
Scott County attic insulation, by the numbers
Scott County sits in IECC climate zone 5 (Cold) — a real winter that drives most of the annual energy bill here. For a currently uninsulated attic, DOE and ENERGY STAR recommend building 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 2.1 years at an estimated $1,672/year saved. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Where the savings come from
Split it out and it's roughly $1,475 a year on the heating side, $197 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Scott County lands in the 64th percentile nationally. Zone 5 alone covers 745 counties in this dataset, and Scott County comes in 533rd by savings. Kansas averages $1,594/year across the counties tracked here; Scott County comes in 5% higher.
Scott County's actual weather, not a national average
The heating and cooling degree days behind this estimate — 5,518 HDD and 1,225 CDD (base 65°F, 1991-2020 normals) — come from SCOTT CITY, KS US, the nearest NOAA station with published normals, 0.8 miles from Scott County's center. That combined heating-and-cooling load ranks Scott County 1054th nationally by total degree days — the 67th percentile. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Scott County sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
Already have some insulation?
If Scott County's attic already has 3-4 inches of old insulation (about R-11) rather than bare joists, the recommended target drops to R-49. That smaller top-up costs around $2,280 and saves an estimated $244/year — payback about 9.3 years. Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Quotes and materials for this job
Actual quotes will vary by attic access, existing debris, and whether the job needs air sealing first. Treat the $3,480 figure above as a planning number for Scott County, not a bid - contractors typically charge a $600 minimum regardless of job size.
Where these figures come from
Scott 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.