Roberts County, TX Insulation Payback
Roberts County attic insulation, by the numbers
Roberts County sits in IECC climate zone 4 (Mixed-Dry) — big seasonal swings - a dry hot summer, then a real winter cold snap. For a currently uninsulated attic, DOE and ENERGY STAR recommend building 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 $1,403 a year in heating and cooling — a payback around 2.5 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Heating vs. cooling in Roberts County
Split it out and it's roughly $1,157 a year on the heating side, $246 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Roberts County lands in the 45th percentile nationally. Zone 4 alone covers 825 counties in this dataset, and Roberts County comes in 389th by savings. Texas averages $1,035/year across the counties tracked here; Roberts County comes in 36% higher.
Roberts County's actual weather, not a national average
The heating and cooling degree days behind this estimate — 4,327 HDD and 1,529 CDD (base 65°F, 1991-2020 normals) — come from MIAMI, TX US, the nearest NOAA station with published normals, 14.9 miles from Roberts County's center. Combined heating and cooling load puts Roberts County in the 49th percentile of this 3,162-county dataset. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Roberts County sits in moisture regime B (dry), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
If the attic isn't bare
If Roberts County's attic already has 3-4 inches of old insulation (about R-11) rather than bare joists, the recommended target drops to R-49. That smaller top-up costs around $2,280 and saves an estimated $205/year — payback about 11.1 years. Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Next steps for a Roberts County attic
Real bids depend on how easy the attic is to reach and whether old insulation needs removing first, so treat $3,480 as a starting estimate for a Roberts County job, not a quote. Expect at least a $600 minimum charge from most contractors.
Where these figures come from
Roberts 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.