Guaynabo Municipio, PR Insulation Payback
Guaynabo Municipio attic insulation, by the numbers
Guaynabo Municipio sits in IECC climate zone 1 (Hot-Humid) — humid heat for much of the year, with cooling running far more than heating ever does. 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 $778 a year — payback in roughly 2.2 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, $778 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Guaynabo Municipio lands in the 4th percentile nationally. Zone 1 alone covers 81 counties in this dataset, and Guaynabo Municipio comes in 21st by savings. Puerto Rico averages $660/year across the counties tracked here; Guaynabo Municipio comes in 18% higher.
Guaynabo Municipio's actual weather, not a national average
NOAA's RIO PIEDRAS EXP STN, PR RQ station, 5.1 miles from Guaynabo Municipio, supplies the 0 HDD and 5,015 CDD this estimate runs on. By total degree days, Guaynabo Municipio sits at the 26th percentile nationally. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Guaynabo Municipio sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
The smaller top-up scenario
A shallower starting point changes the math: with R-11 already down, only the gap to R-25 needs filling, at roughly $840 for an estimated $85/year saved (~9.9-year payback). Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Next steps for a Guaynabo Municipio attic
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 Guaynabo Municipio, not a bid - contractors typically charge a $600 minimum regardless of job size.
Where these figures come from
Guaynabo 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.