Teton County, ID Insulation Payback
Teton County attic insulation, by the numbers
Teton County, Idaho is zone 6 under DOE's climate map (Cold), which means a real winter that drives most of the annual energy bill here. 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 $2,269 a year — payback in roughly 1.5 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Where the savings come from
Split it out and it's roughly $2,250 a year on the heating side, $19 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Teton County lands in the 92th percentile nationally. Zone 6 alone covers 459 counties in this dataset, and Teton County comes in 119th by savings. Idaho averages $1,995/year across the counties tracked here; Teton County comes in 14% higher.
Teton County's actual weather, not a national average
The heating and cooling degree days behind this estimate — 8,414 HDD and 120 CDD (base 65°F, 1991-2020 normals) — come from DRIGGS, ID US, the nearest NOAA station with published normals, 5.4 miles from Teton County's center. Combined heating and cooling load puts Teton County in the 91th percentile of this 3,162-county dataset. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Teton County sits in moisture regime B (dry), 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 $331/year saved (~6.9-year payback). Worth doing on the numbers alone.
Getting it done in Teton County
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 Teton County's estimated $2,269/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
Teton 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.