Whitakers, NC
6 miles southwest
646 people, about a third of Enfield's population
Attic insulation in WhitakersAttic Insulation in Enfield, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for Enfield, NC, in Halifax County, plus removal and air sealing.
About Enfield and Its Homes
Enfield was once the seat of Edgecombe County and was incorporated in 1861, but it grew mostly after the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad came through in 1840. Its historic district holds houses from the 1830s to the early 1970s, laid out on a grid that follows the tracks.
Enfield, in Halifax County, fell from 1,859 people in 2020 to 1,777 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 1.3 square miles. That makes Enfield the second-largest town in Halifax County.
Enfield has about 1,000 housing units, 4 percent of Halifax County's.
Enfield at a Glance
- County: Halifax County
- Population: 1,777 (2025), 1,859 (2020), down 4.4%
- Land area: 1.3 square miles (1,367 people each)
- Housing units: about 1,000 (±165)
- Median year built: 1964 (±5); Halifax County: 1979
- Detached houses: 73% (±9); Halifax County: 61%
- Attached houses: under 6%
- Apartments: 20% (±9)
- Mobile homes: 4% (±3)
- Climate zone: 4 (state code), 3 (2021 map)
- ENERGY STAR target for Enfield attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for Enfield, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
Enfield Homes and Their Attics
Hosiery Mill Houses Along McGwigan Street
The 2021 nomination records that the Enfield Hosiery Mills put up houses and duplexes on McGwigan Street around 1915. They are one story, side-gabled and only one room deep, and the inventory shows rear wings and later ells on some of them. The big Italianate and Queen Anne houses of the late 1800s were built with several rear wings as well. Every separate roof can hide its own small attic. We open and measure each one, then spread the insulation to one even depth so no hollow is left over the back rooms.
Brick Chimneys in the 1920s Bungalows
Craftsman houses are among the most popular in the district, the nomination says, and most of Enfield's date from the 1920s. Its inventory notes an interior brick chimney in house after house. A chimney that rises inside the house passes straight up through the attic floor, leaving an open ring around the brick. ENERGY STAR has that ring closed with sheet aluminum and high-temperature caulk, never foam, and a metal dam set up to hold loose insulation off the masonry. Brick wants a gap of 2 inches under most codes, ENERGY STAR adds.
Attic Insulation in Enfield
About 60 percent of Enfield's homes predate 1970; if your joists show above the insulation, ENERGY STAR says to add more insulation.
Built from 1940 to 1969, about 45 percent of Enfield homes often have little insulation.
The Local Climate
Enfield's center sits about 110 feet above sea level, 20 miles from NOAA's Rocky Mount 8 ESE station, the best match for Enfield. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 3,380 heating and 1,550 cooling degree days a year, so at Enfield's station, heating needs outweigh cooling.
Readings change over short distances around Enfield: NOAA's Jackson station, 20 miles away, averages about 3,660 heating degree days.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
About 73 percent of Enfield housing units are detached single-family houses.
Built from 1970 to 1989, about 25 percent of Enfield homes may hold settled fiberglass; check its depth against the joists.
About 70 percent of Enfield's housing units predate 1980; nearly all predate the state's 1978 insulation rule too.
Homes by Year Built
- Before 1940: 11% (±6), about 115 units
- 1940s: 9% (±5), about 90 units
- 1950s: 23% (±8), about 230 units
- 1960s: 15% (±6), about 155 units
- 1970s: 13% (±7), about 130 units
- 1980s: 14% (±7), about 140 units
- 1990s: 7% (±5), about 70 units
- 2000s: 5% (±4), about 55 units
- 2010s: 2% (±2), about 25 units
- 2020 or later: under 1%
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in Enfield
In Enfield, about 31 percent of homes heat with electricity; forced air, electric or gas, moves through ducts.
Air sealing comes first, as the EPA advises: wire and pipe holes, wall tops and soffits.
How Homes Here Are Heated
- Electricity: 31% (±10), about 220 households; Halifax County: 61%
- Piped gas: 54% (±13), about 380 households
- Bottled or tank gas: 9% (±6), about 65 households
- Oil or kerosene: under 10%, about 30 households
Power, Gas and Rebates
Enfield, an ElectriCities public power town, runs its own electric system. For gas, Enfield is in the Halifax County franchise of Piedmont Natural Gas, whose mains may not reach every street in Enfield.
Program to ask about in Enfield: ElectriCities energy audits (the town's electric system), home energy audits for member-town customers; ask the town's utility office. Before a job in Enfield, check its current terms; the Halifax County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in Enfield
In an Enfield attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that Enfield attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near Enfield
Nearest to Enfield first.
Halifax, NC
11 miles northeast
Its NOAA station logs about 280 more heating degree days than Enfield's; 157 people, under a tenth of Enfield's population
Attic insulation in HalifaxLeggett, NC
14 miles south
37 people, under a tenth of Enfield's population
Attic insulation in LeggettScotland Neck, NC
14 miles east
Power from its own town system (Enfield: a town system); Its NOAA station logs about 240 fewer heating degree days than Enfield's
Attic insulation in Scotland NeckRed Oak, NC
15 miles southwest
Power from Duke Energy Progress (Enfield: a town system)
Attic insulation in Red Oak
Enfield Insulation FAQs
Enfield's historic district was listed in 2021. Do I need approval to insulate?
No approval is needed for that. The State Historic Preservation Office says a National Register listing does not bind owners who spend their own money on their own property. On the state's 2023 roster, Halifax County's one local commission belongs to Weldon, so no local design review shows up for Enfield in those records. Insulating happens indoors. A new roof vent is a change outside, so ask the town before that part if your attic needs one.
My house in Enfield is from the nineteenth century. What gets looked at first?
The wiring, before anything else. The nomination's oldest houses date from the 1830s, and plain one-story side-gabled houses were the most common kind built from the 1880s to 1915. Any wiring put into a house that old before 1930 may be knob-and-tube. Insulation packed around those porcelain knobs is a fire hazard, ENERGY STAR says. So an electrician sees it first, and a live run is never covered.
Could the old insulation in an Enfield attic be vermiculite?
It could: about 45 percent of Enfield's homes predate 1960. If an Enfield attic holds a pebble-like gray-brown or silver-gold fill, leave it undisturbed: the EPA says vermiculite may contain asbestos.
Does attic insulation in Enfield need a permit?
Enfield Town Hall can say whether Halifax County Building Inspection, the town itself or another office handles permits in Enfield; ask before work starts.
Helpful Guides
- An energy audit program from the town's own utility: home energy audits
Sources
Census Bureau figures for Enfield, NOAA normals for the Rocky Mount 8 ESE station, Enfield's municipal electric system (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the Enfield notes and questions (read October 20, 2026):
- Enfield, in The North Carolina Gazetteer (William S. Powell, 2nd ed., UNC Press 2010), NCpedia
- Enfield Historic District, National Register nomination (NC HPO)
- Adding Attic Insulation, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
- Furnace Flues Require Special Sealing Techniques, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
- NC Listings in the National Register of Historic Places, NC State Historic Preservation Office
- What Is the National Register of Historic Places?, NC State Historic Preservation Office
- Historic Preservation Commission Staff in North Carolina, listed by county, as of 2/20/2023 (NC HPO)
- Attic Insulation Project, ENERGY STAR
Enfield, NC
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Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, Enfield and the rest of Halifax County included.
Reach us
Send the square footage of your Enfield attic, or call (336) 870-3893.