McAdenville, NC
2 miles southeast
Center about 190 feet lower than Lowell's; 960 people, about a quarter of Lowell's population
Attic insulation in McAdenvilleAttic Insulation in Lowell, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for Lowell, NC, in Gaston County, plus removal and air sealing.
About Lowell and Its Homes
Lowell began with the Woodlawn Mill on the South Fork River and a railroad depot called Wright's Station. It was incorporated in 1879 and named for the Massachusetts textile city, and it grew as a town rather than as one company's village.
Lowell, in Gaston County, grew from 3,662 people in 2020 to 3,939 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 3.67 square miles.
Lowell has about 1,900 housing units, 2 percent of Gaston County's.
Lowell at a Glance
- County: Gaston County
- Population: 3,939 (2025), 3,662 (2020), up 7.6%
- Land area: 3.67 square miles (1,073 people each)
- Housing units: about 1,900 (±259)
- Owner-occupied: 73% (±13); Gaston County: 67%
- Detached houses: 89% (±7); Gaston County: 73%
- Attached houses: under 3%
- Apartments: 6% (±3)
- Mobile homes: 4% (±3)
- Climate zone: 3 on both maps
- ENERGY STAR target for Lowell attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for Lowell, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
Lowell Homes and Their Attics
The 1920s Rental Row on South Main Street
Gaston County's 2000 survey of African American places records that South Main Street changed in the 1920s. A local landowner put up a long run of identical front-gabled rental houses there, and the tenants came to call the group Hudson Row. The same survey describes a small Black community that began on the town's east edge, gathered around Wright's Chapel church and a two-room school. A rental row of the 1920s may have had its first electric lines strung on porcelain knobs and tubes, a method ENERGY STAR associates with wiring done before 1930. Insulation packed against that old wiring is a fire risk, so an electrician sorts it out first, and any run still carrying power stays open to the air.
Attic Insulation in Lowell
If the joists show above the insulation in a Lowell attic, ENERGY STAR says to add more insulation.
The Local Climate
Lowell's center sits about 780 feet above sea level, 2 miles from NOAA's Gastonia station, the best match for Lowell. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 3,000 heating and 1,850 cooling degree days a year, so at Lowell's station, heating needs outweigh cooling.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
About 89 percent of Lowell housing units are detached single-family houses.
Built from 1970 to 1989, 16 percent of Lowell homes may hold settled fiberglass; check its depth against the joists. From 1990 to 2009, about 35 percent of Lowell homes were built to codes below ENERGY STAR's target; check their eaves, where ENERGY STAR says insulation is often thinnest.
Homes by Year Built
- Before 1940: 11% (±6), about 215 units
- 1940s: 16% (±15), about 310 units
- 1950s: 13% (±7), about 255 units
- 1960s: 4% (±3), about 75 units
- 1970s: 12% (±5), about 230 units
- 1980s: 4% (±3), about 70 units
- 1990s: 4% (±3), about 80 units
- 2000s: 29% (±8), about 550 units
- 2010s: 5% (±4), about 85 units
- 2020 or later: under 3%, about 25 units
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in Lowell
In Lowell, about 39 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: 39% (±7), about 700 households; Gaston County: 57%
- Piped gas: 59% (±14), about 1,050 households
- Bottled or tank gas: 2% (±1), about 25 households
Power, Gas and Rebates
Duke Energy Carolinas supplies Lowell's electricity. For gas, Lowell is in the Gaston County franchise of Enbridge Gas North Carolina, whose mains may not reach every street in Lowell. Duke's free House Call fits many Lowell homes: about 39 percent heat with electricity.
Rebate to check in Lowell: Smart $aver Insulate and Seal (Duke Energy; Insulation Pros is an approved trade ally). Before a job in Lowell, check its current terms; the Gaston County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in Lowell
In a Lowell attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that Lowell attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near Lowell
Nearest to Lowell first.
Cramerton, NC
4 miles southeast
Center about 170 feet lower than Lowell's
Attic insulation in CramertonGastonia, NC
5 miles west
Power from its own town system (Lowell: Duke Energy Carolinas); 87,067 people, about 22 times Lowell's population
Attic insulation in GastoniaBelmont, NC
5 miles southeast
16,415 people, about 4 times Lowell's population
Attic insulation in Belmont
Lowell Insulation FAQs
Is any part of Lowell a historic district?
Not according to the state. Search the State Historic Preservation Office's National Register rows for Gaston County and Lowell is absent. Gaston County and Gastonia each appear on the 2023 roster of local preservation commissions. Lowell does not. That means no district board reviews attic work in town. If you believe your house is a designated county landmark, check with the county first if the job grows to include new vents through the roof.
My older Lowell house has a room added at the back. Does that part need its own look?
Yes. The housing figures on this page put about half of Lowell's homes before 1970, and a house that old may have gained rooms over the years. An addition under its own roof can have a separate, shallow attic, or no attic space above its ceiling at all. Its insulation can be thin, patchy or missing even when the main attic looks full. On install day the crew finds a way into each space and measures it on its own before adding any.
Does attic insulation in Lowell need a permit?
Lowell City Hall can say whether Gaston County Building Inspections, the city itself or another office handles permits in Lowell; ask before work starts.
Helpful Guides
- Power from Duke Energy Carolinas: high summer electric bills and home energy audits
Sources
Census Bureau figures for Lowell, NOAA normals for the Gastonia station, Duke Energy Carolinas (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the Lowell notes and questions (read October 20, 2026):
- About, History, City of Lowell
- Lowell, in The North Carolina Gazetteer (William S. Powell, 2nd ed., UNC Press 2010), NCpedia
- Survey of African American Resources in Gaston County: Planning Phase Report and Multiple Property Documentation Form, Gaston County's African American Built Environment Under Jim Crow (2000), NC HPO
- Attic Insulation Project, ENERGY STAR
- NC Listings in 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)
- Year Structure Built (table B25034), Lowell city, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau via Census Reporter
Lowell, NC
Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)Serving Lowell, NC
Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, Lowell and the rest of Gaston County included.
Reach us
Send the square footage of your Lowell attic, or call (336) 870-3893.