Las Marías Municipio, PR Insulation Payback
Las Marías Municipio attic insulation, by the numbers
Las Marías 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. Topping up a typical 1,000-square-foot attic from bare joists (R-2) to R-30 runs an estimated $1,680, and saves about $366 a year in heating and cooling — a payback around 4.6 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself here.
Where the savings come from
Split it out and it's roughly $3 a year on the heating side, $363 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Las Marías Municipio lands in the 0th percentile nationally. Zone 1 alone covers 81 counties in this dataset, and Las Marías Municipio comes in 74th by savings. Puerto Rico averages $660/year across the counties tracked here; Las Marías Municipio comes in 45% lower.
The climate data behind this
NOAA's MARICAO 2 SSW, PR RQ station, 5.3 miles from Las Marías Municipio, supplies the 12 HDD and 2,340 CDD this estimate runs on. By total degree days, Las Marías Municipio sits at the 0th percentile nationally. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Las Marías Municipio sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
Already have some insulation?
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 $40/year saved (~21-year payback). This is the weak case for the upgrade, numbers-wise.
Getting it done in Las Marías Municipio
Real bids depend on how easy the attic is to reach and whether old insulation needs removing first, so treat $1,680 as a starting estimate for a Las Marías Municipio job, not a quote. Expect at least a $600 minimum charge from most contractors.
Where these figures come from
Las Marías 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.