Briscoe County, TX Insulation Payback
Briscoe County attic insulation, by the numbers
Briscoe County sits in IECC climate zone 4 (Mixed-Dry) — dry heat in summer giving way to a properly cold winter. For a currently uninsulated attic, DOE and ENERGY STAR recommend building up to R-60. Topping up a typical 1,000-square-foot attic from bare joists (R-2) to R-60 runs an estimated $3,480, and saves about $1,293 a year in heating and cooling — a payback around 2.7 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Where the savings come from
Split it out and it's roughly $1,040 a year on the heating side, $253 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Briscoe County lands in the 38th percentile nationally. Zone 4 alone covers 825 counties in this dataset, and Briscoe County comes in 598th by savings. Texas averages $1,035/year across the counties tracked here; Briscoe County comes in 25% higher.
Where these numbers come from
NOAA's SILVERTON, TX US station, 6.5 miles from Briscoe County, supplies the 3,890 HDD and 1,573 CDD this estimate runs on. Combined heating and cooling load puts Briscoe County in the 39th percentile of this 3,162-county dataset. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Briscoe County sits in moisture regime B (dry), 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-49 runs about $2,280 for about $189/year saved — roughly 12.1 years to break even. Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Quotes and materials for this job
Real bids depend on how easy the attic is to reach and whether old insulation needs removing first, so treat $3,480 as a starting estimate for a Briscoe County job, not a quote. Expect at least a $600 minimum charge from most contractors.
Where these figures come from
Briscoe County's R-60 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-60 is the target here specifically.