Attic Insulation in Sims, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for Sims, NC, 3 miles from Bailey, plus removal and air sealing.
About Sims and Its Homes
Sims began in the early 1900s as Simms Siding, where a lumber company shipped house siding by rail in western Wilson County, and it was chartered in 1913. A 1981 county study found it was not growing, but the town reports new residential developments from 2000 on.
Sims, in Wilson County, grew from 340 people in 2020 to 346 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 0.22 square miles.
Sims has about 225 housing units, 1 percent of Wilson County's.
Sims at a Glance
- County: Wilson County
- Population: 346 (2025), 340 (2020), up 1.8%
- Land area: 0.22 square miles (1,573 people each)
- Housing units: about 225 (±96)
- Detached houses: 99% (±6); Wilson County: 63%
- Climate zone: 3 on both maps
- ENERGY STAR target for Sims attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for Sims, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
Attic Insulation in Sims
About 25 percent of Sims' homes predate 1970; if your joists show above the insulation, ENERGY STAR says to add more insulation.
The Local Climate
Sims' center sits about 200 feet above sea level, 8 miles from NOAA's Wilson 3 SW station, the best match for Sims. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 3,060 heating and 1,840 cooling degree days a year, so at Sims' station, heating needs outweigh cooling.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
Some 99 percent of Sims housing units are detached single-family houses. With about 225 housing units in Sims, read the figures as rough proportions.
Built before 1940, about 15 percent of Sims homes can hide knob-and-tube wiring and vermiculite, jobs for an electrician and an asbestos contractor first. From 1990 to 2009, about 30 percent of Sims homes were built to codes below ENERGY STAR's target; check their eaves, where ENERGY STAR says insulation is often thinnest.
About 25 percent of Sims' housing units predate 1980; nearly all predate the state's 1978 insulation rule too.
Homes by Year Built
- Before 1940: 14% (±10), about 30 units
- 1940s: under 12%, about 10 units
- 1950s: under 4%
- 1960s: under 4%
- 1970s: under 2%
- 1980s: under 6%
- 1990s: under 8%
- 2000s: 27% (±9), about 60 units
- 2020 or later: 5% (±4), about 10 units
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in Sims
In Wilson, the nearest town to Sims with solid figures, 62 percent of homes heat with electricity.
Air sealing comes first, as the EPA advises: wire and pipe holes, wall tops and soffits.
Power, Gas and Rebates
Duke Energy Progress supplies Sims' electricity. For gas, Sims is in the Wilson County franchise of Piedmont Natural Gas, whose mains may not reach every street in Sims. Bottled or tank gas, bought by the delivery, heats about 10 percent of homes in Sims.
Rebate to check in Sims: Smart $aver Insulate and Seal (Duke Energy; Insulation Pros is an approved trade ally). Before a job in Sims, check its current terms; the Wilson County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in Sims
In a Sims attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that Sims attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near Sims
Nearest to Sims first.
Wilson, NC
8 miles east
Power from its own town system (Sims: Duke Energy Progress); 49,572 people, about 143 times Sims' population
Insulation contractor serving WilsonMiddlesex, NC
8 miles west
Its NOAA station logs about 330 more heating degree days than Sims'; 975 people, about 3 times Sims' population
Attic insulation in MiddlesexBlack Creek, NC
11 miles southeast
708 people, about twice Sims' population
Attic insulation in Black Creek
Sims Insulation FAQs
Is my house in Sims on the National Register?
Not unless the state's list is out of date. It shows no listed house within the town limits. The one National Register property the state ties to the town, the Bullock-Dew House, is recorded under its vicinity, which means it stands outside them. The 2023 state roster gives Wilson County a single commission, run by the city of Wilson. So historic review has nothing to say about insulating or sealing your attic.
Our house is in one of the newer Sims developments. What happens to its recessed lights?
Each can is read for its rating first. The town's history records new residential developments in Sims from 2000 on, so a newer attic here may sit over recessed fixtures. An IC stamp means the housing may be buried. Without that stamp, ENERGY STAR keeps insulation 3 inches back, held off by a sheet metal or wire mesh barrier. The same agency lists recessed lights among attic air leaks, so every housing is sealed from the attic side first.
Could the old insulation in a Sims attic be vermiculite?
It could: about 20 percent of Sims' homes predate 1960. If a Sims 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 Sims need a permit?
Sims Town Hall can say whether Wilson County Inspections Division, the town itself or another office handles permits in Sims; ask before work starts.
Helpful Guides
- Power from Duke Energy Progress: high summer electric bills and home energy audits
Sources
Census Bureau figures for Sims, NOAA normals for the Wilson 3 SW station, Duke Energy Progress (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the Sims introduction and questions (read October 20, 2026):
- Sims Origins and History, Town of Sims
- Sims, in The North Carolina Gazetteer (William S. Powell, 2nd ed., UNC Press 2010), NCpedia
- Historic Resources of Wilson County, National Register multiple resource nomination (NC HPO)
- 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)
- Attic Insulation Project, ENERGY STAR
- Attic Air Sealing Project, ENERGY STAR
Serving Sims, NC
Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, Sims and the rest of Wilson County included.
Reach us
Send the square footage of your Sims attic, or call (336) 870-3893.