Trego County, KS Insulation Payback
Trego County attic insulation, by the numbers
Trego 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. Topping up a typical 1,000-square-foot attic from bare joists (R-2) to R-60 runs an estimated $3,480, and saves about $1,659 a year in heating and cooling — a payback around 2.1 years.
Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Heating vs. cooling in Trego County
Split it out and it's roughly $1,439 a year on the heating side, $221 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Trego County lands in the 63rd percentile nationally. Zone 5 alone covers 754 counties in this dataset, and Trego County comes in 562nd by savings. Kansas averages $1,594/year across the counties tracked here; Trego County comes in 4% higher.
Trego County's actual weather, not a national average
NOAA's Wakeeney, KS US station, 6.5 miles from Trego County, supplies the 5,380 HDD and 1,374 CDD this estimate runs on. That combined heating-and-cooling load ranks Trego County 1054th nationally by total degree days — the 67th percentile. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Trego 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 $242/year saved (~9.4-year payback). Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Quotes and materials for this job
Get quotes from at least two local contractors 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 checking upfront given Trego County's estimated $1,659/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
Trego 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.