Montgomery County, TX Insulation Payback
Montgomery County attic insulation, by the numbers
DOE classifies Montgomery County as climate zone 2, hot-humid — summers that stay hot and humid while winters barely register on the energy bill. Its recommended attic R-value for bare joists is R-49. Going from R-2 to the recommended R-49 costs roughly $2,820 installed for a typical attic (about 1,000 sq ft), and pays for itself in about 3.2 years at an estimated $888/year saved. Topping up the attic pays for itself here.
Heating vs. cooling in Montgomery County
Split it out and it's roughly $382 a year on the heating side, $506 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Montgomery County lands in the 9th percentile nationally. Zone 2 alone covers 233 counties in this dataset, and Montgomery County comes in 56th by savings. Texas averages $1,035/year across the counties tracked here; Montgomery County comes in 14% lower.
Where these numbers come from
Montgomery County's climate figures — 1,440 heating and 3,172 cooling degree days a year — are read from CONROE, TX US, 2.5 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. That combined heating-and-cooling load ranks Montgomery County 2723rd nationally by total degree days — the 14th percentile. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Montgomery County 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-38 needs filling, at roughly $1,620 for an estimated $120/year saved (~13.6-year payback). 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 $2,820 as a starting estimate for a Montgomery County job, not a quote. Expect at least a $600 minimum charge from most contractors.
Where these figures come from
Montgomery County's R-49 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-49 is the target here specifically.