Beulaville, NC
13 miles west
Its NOAA station logs about 410 more heating degree days than Richlands'; 1,176 people, about half of Richlands' population
Attic insulation in BeulavilleAttic Insulation in Richlands, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for Richlands, NC, in Onslow County, plus removal and air sealing.
About Richlands and Its Homes
Richlands began as a crossroads with a store, a few houses and an academy on the Wilmington to New Bern road. It grew into the farm town of northern Onslow County, was incorporated in 1880, and its historic district centers on the two-story frame homes its merchants and business leaders built after that.
Richlands, in Onslow County, grew from 2,291 people in 2020 to 2,485 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 1.65 square miles. That makes Richlands the fourth-largest town in Onslow County.
Richlands has about 950 housing units, 1 percent of Onslow County's.
Richlands at a Glance
- County: Onslow County
- Population: 2,485 (2025), 2,291 (2020), up 8.5%
- Land area: 1.65 square miles (1,506 people each)
- Housing units: about 950 (±231)
- Detached houses: 84% (±10); Onslow County: 65%
- Attached houses: 5% (±4)
- Apartments: 7% (±5)
- Mobile homes: 4% (±4)
- Climate zone: 3 on both maps
- ENERGY STAR target for Richlands attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for Richlands, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
Richlands Homes and Their Attics
Hip Roofs, Bay Windows and Wraparound Porches
The district's nomination, listed in 1990, says the earlier houses of the town's growth years were I-houses: two stories, three bays across, with a center hall. After 1900, Richlands builders moved to busier plans, with bay windows, wraparound porches and complicated hip roofs. Under a roof that complicated there may be several separate attics. A bay or a wing may have its own pocket at its own height, sometimes reached only by crawling over joists from the main space. ENERGY STAR wants insulation laid at an even depth, without thin patches. In a house like this that means finding, measuring and filling every pocket, not just the open middle near the hatch.
Attic Insulation in Richlands
If the joists show above the insulation in a Richlands attic, ENERGY STAR says to add more insulation.
In 2010 or later, about 30 percent of Richlands homes went up; check their air sealing as well as the depth.
The Local Climate
Richlands' center sits about 60 feet above sea level, 3 miles from NOAA's Richlands station, the best match for Richlands. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 3,080 heating and 1,630 cooling degree days a year, so at Richlands' station, heating needs outweigh cooling.
Readings change over short distances around Richlands: NOAA's Jacksonville EOC station, 11 miles away, averages about 2,770 heating degree days. The state energy code marks Onslow County warm and humid.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
About 84 percent of Richlands housing units are detached single-family houses.
From 1990 to 2009, about 20 percent of Richlands 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: 4% (±3), about 40 units
- 1940s: 8% (±6), about 75 units
- 1950s: 6% (±4), about 60 units
- 1960s: under 25%, about 100 units
- 1970s: 10% (±6), about 90 units
- 1980s: 8% (±5), about 80 units
- 1990s: under 3%, about 15 units
- 2000s: 20% (±7), about 190 units
- 2010s: 26% (±7), about 245 units
- 2020 or later: 6% (±4), about 55 units
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in Richlands
In Richlands, 97 percent of homes heat with electricity; where that heat is forced air, ducts often run through the attic.
Air sealing comes first, as the EPA advises: wire and pipe holes, wall tops and soffits.
How Homes Here Are Heated
- Electricity: 97% (±5), about 790 households; Onslow County: 92%
- Bottled or tank gas: 1% (±1), about 10 households
Power, Gas and Rebates
Duke Energy Progress serves most of Richlands, Jones-Onslow EMC its edges; your bill says which. For gas, Richlands is in the Onslow County franchise of Piedmont Natural Gas, whose mains may not reach every street in Richlands. Duke's free House Call fits many Richlands homes: 97 percent heat with electricity.
Rebate to check in Richlands: Smart $aver Insulate and Seal (Duke Energy; Insulation Pros is an approved trade ally). Before a job in Richlands, check its current terms; the Onslow County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in Richlands
In a Richlands attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that Richlands attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near Richlands
Nearest to Richlands first.
Jacksonville, NC
15 miles southeast
Its NOAA station logs about 310 fewer heating degree days than Richlands'; 72,732 people, about 29 times Richlands' population
Insulation contractor serving JacksonvilleTrenton, NC
16 miles northeast
251 people, about a tenth of Richlands' population
Attic insulation in TrentonPink Hill, NC
16 miles northwest
459 people, about a fifth of Richlands' population
Attic insulation in Pink HillMaysville, NC
18 miles east
853 people, about a third of Richlands' population
Attic insulation in Maysville
Richlands Insulation FAQs
Is my house in the Richlands Historic District under any design rules?
No local ones. The district joined the National Register in 1990. Listing alone, the State Historic Preservation Office explains, places no limits on an owner who repairs or alters a listed house at private expense. Design review for exteriors needs a local commission, and Onslow County's only one on the state's 2023 roster is Swansboro's. Your attic work happens indoors either way.
Why is the old insulation above my Richlands ceiling streaked dark?
The streaks point to an air leak below. ENERGY STAR calls dirty insulation a sign that house air has been passing through it, and says the insulation can stay. The nomination describes ceilings in the district's older houses as plaster or beaded tongue-and-groove boards. Warm air works up through the openings in them: light fixtures, holes drilled for wiring, and the chase around a flue. We trace each streak to its leak and seal it from above before adding insulation.
Could the old insulation in a Richlands attic be vermiculite?
It could: about 20 percent of Richlands' homes predate 1960. If a Richlands 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 Richlands need a permit?
Richlands Town Hall can say whether Onslow County Building Guides, the town itself or another office handles permits in Richlands; ask before work starts.
Helpful Guides
- Onslow County is warm and humid by the state energy code: attic condensation and mold and attic ventilation
- Power from Duke Energy Progress: high summer electric bills and home energy audits
Sources
Census Bureau figures for Richlands, NOAA normals for the Richlands station, Duke Energy Progress (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the Richlands notes and questions (read October 20, 2026):
- Richlands, in The North Carolina Gazetteer (William S. Powell, 2nd ed., UNC Press 2010), NCpedia
- Historic and Architectural Resources of Onslow County, North Carolina, National Register multiple property documentation form (NC HPO)
- Richlands Historic District, National Register nomination (NC HPO)
- Adding Attic Insulation, 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 Air Sealing Project, ENERGY STAR
Richlands, NC
Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)Serving Richlands, NC
Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, Richlands and the rest of Onslow County included.
Reach us
Send the square footage of your Richlands attic, or call (336) 870-3893.