Caguas Municipio, PR Insulation Payback
Caguas Municipio attic insulation, by the numbers
Caguas Municipio sits in IECC climate zone 1 (Hot-Humid) — summers that stay hot and humid while winters barely register on the energy bill. For a currently uninsulated attic, DOE and ENERGY STAR recommend building up to R-30. For an attic around 1,000 square feet, closing the gap from R-2 to R-30 costs around $1,680 and saves an estimated $703 a year — payback in roughly 2.4 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Where the savings come from
Split it out and it's roughly $0 a year on the heating side, $703 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Caguas Municipio lands in the 2th percentile nationally. Zone 1 alone covers 81 counties in this dataset, and Caguas Municipio comes in 43rd by savings. Puerto Rico averages $660/year across the counties tracked here; Caguas Municipio comes in 7% higher.
Where these numbers come from
The heating and cooling degree days behind this estimate — 0 HDD and 4,531 CDD (base 65°F, 1991-2020 normals) — come from GURABO SUBSTN, PR RQ, the nearest NOAA station with published normals, 5.1 miles from Caguas Municipio's center. That combined heating-and-cooling load ranks Caguas Municipio 2777th nationally by total degree days — the 12th percentile. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Caguas Municipio sits in moisture regime A (humid), 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-25 runs about $840 for about $77/year saved — roughly 11 years to break even. Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Quotes and materials for this job
Actual quotes will vary by attic access, existing debris, and whether the job needs air sealing first. Treat the $1,680 figure above as a planning number for Caguas Municipio, not a bid - contractors typically charge a $600 minimum regardless of job size.
Where these figures come from
Caguas Municipio's R-30 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-30 is the target here specifically.