Tyrrell County, NC Insulation Payback
Tyrrell County attic insulation, by the numbers
Tyrrell County sits in IECC climate zone 3 (Mixed-Humid) — heating load in winter and cooling load in summer, both worth taking seriously here. For a currently uninsulated attic, DOE and ENERGY STAR recommend building up to R-49. Topping up a typical 1,000-square-foot attic from bare joists (R-2) to R-49 runs an estimated $2,820, and saves about $1,087 a year in heating and cooling — a payback around 2.6 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Heating vs. cooling in Tyrrell County
Split it out and it's roughly $829 a year on the heating side, $258 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Tyrrell County lands in the 23th percentile nationally. Zone 3 alone covers 690 counties in this dataset, and Tyrrell County comes in 269th by savings. North Carolina averages $1,169/year across the counties tracked here; Tyrrell County comes in 7% lower.
Where these numbers come from
NOAA's COLUMBIA AG GUM NECK, NC US station, 11.2 miles from Tyrrell County, supplies the 3,125 HDD and 1,619 CDD this estimate runs on. Combined heating and cooling load puts Tyrrell County in the 18th percentile of this 3,162-county dataset. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Tyrrell County sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
If the attic isn't bare
Already have a few inches up there? Topping R-11 up to R-38 runs about $1,620 for about $146/year saved — roughly 11.1 years to break even. Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Next steps for a Tyrrell County attic
Real bids depend on how easy the attic is to reach and whether old insulation needs removing first, so treat $2,820 as a starting estimate for a Tyrrell County job, not a quote. Expect at least a $600 minimum charge from most contractors.
Where these figures come from
Tyrrell County's R-49 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-49 is the target here specifically.