Wilson County, NC Insulation Payback
Wilson County attic insulation, by the numbers
Wilson County sits in IECC climate zone 3 (Mixed-Humid) — real heating and real cooling seasons both, roughly balanced across the year. 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 $1,106 a year in heating and cooling — a payback around 2.5 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Heating vs. cooling in Wilson County
Split it out and it's roughly $812 a year on the heating side, $294 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Wilson County lands in the 25th percentile nationally. Zone 3 alone covers 690 counties in this dataset, and Wilson County comes in 231st by savings. North Carolina averages $1,169/year across the counties tracked here; Wilson County comes in 5% lower.
Where these numbers come from
Wilson County's climate figures — 3,062 heating and 1,842 cooling degree days a year — are read from WILSON 3 SW, NC US, 1.4 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. Combined heating and cooling load puts Wilson County in the 23th percentile of this 3,162-county dataset. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Wilson 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 $149/year saved — roughly 10.9 years to break even. Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Quotes and materials for this job
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 Wilson County's estimated $1,106/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
Wilson 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.