Hartley County, TX Insulation Payback
Hartley County attic insulation, by the numbers
Hartley County, Texas is zone 4 under DOE's climate map (Mixed-Dry), which means big seasonal swings - a dry hot summer, then a real winter cold snap. An uninsulated attic there should be built 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 $1,499 a year in heating and cooling — a payback around 2.3 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Where the savings come from
Split it out and it's roughly $1,335 a year on the heating side, $164 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Hartley County lands in the 53th percentile nationally. Zone 4 alone covers 825 counties in this dataset, and Hartley County comes in 174th by savings. Texas averages $1,035/year across the counties tracked here; Hartley County comes in 45% higher.
The climate data behind this
Hartley County's climate figures — 4,992 heating and 1,020 cooling degree days a year — are read from DALHART 6 SW, TX US, 11.5 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. That combined heating-and-cooling load ranks Hartley County 1516th nationally by total degree days — the 52th percentile. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Hartley County sits in moisture regime B (dry), 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-49 needs filling, at roughly $2,280 for an estimated $219/year saved (~10.4-year payback). Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Next steps for a Hartley County attic
Get more than one quote before committing. Attic access and any needed air sealing move the price around, and most contractors won't take a job below roughly $600 regardless of size - worth asking upfront given Hartley County's estimated $1,499/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
Hartley 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.