San Juan County, CO Insulation Payback
San Juan County, CO: what topping up your attic actually costs
San Juan County, Colorado is zone 7 under DOE's climate map (Very Cold), which means a climate where the heating season stretches across most of the year. An uninsulated attic there should be built up to R-60. For an attic around 1,000 square feet, closing the gap from R-2 to R-60 costs around $3,480 and saves an estimated $2,951 a year — payback in roughly 1.2 years. That's about as fast as attic paybacks get.
Heating vs. cooling in San Juan County
Cooling barely factors in here; essentially the full $2,951/year is heating savings. Out of every 100 US counties tracked here, San Juan County's savings potential beats roughly 100 of them. Within zone 7 specifically, it ranks 4th of 120 counties by estimated savings. Colorado averages $2,043/year across the counties tracked here; San Juan County comes in 44% higher.
Where these numbers come from
The heating and cooling degree days behind this estimate — 11,035 HDD and 0 CDD (base 65°F, 1991-2020 normals) — come from SILVERTON, CO US, the nearest NOAA station with published normals, 2 miles from San Juan County's center. Combined heating and cooling load puts San Juan County in the 100th percentile of this 3,162-county dataset.
Already have some insulation?
If San Juan 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 $430/year — payback about 5.3 years. That is a solid payback as home upgrades go.
Getting it done in San Juan County
Actual quotes will vary by attic access, existing debris, and whether the job needs air sealing first. Treat the $3,480 figure above as a planning number for San Juan County, not a bid - contractors typically charge a $600 minimum regardless of job size.
Nothing here is a guess
Every figure on this page traces to DOE/IECC climate zones and NOAA degree-day normals, documented in the methodology guide. The guide to what R-value actually means explains why R-60 is the target here specifically.