Swisher County, TX Insulation Payback
Swisher County attic insulation, by the numbers
Swisher County sits in IECC climate zone 4 (Mixed-Dry) — dry heat in summer giving way to a properly cold winter. For a currently uninsulated attic, DOE and ENERGY STAR recommend building 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 $1,338 a year — payback in roughly 2.6 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Where the savings come from
Split it out and it's roughly $1,117 a year on the heating side, $220 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Swisher County lands in the 41th percentile nationally. Zone 4 alone covers 825 counties in this dataset, and Swisher County comes in 507th by savings. Texas averages $1,035/year across the counties tracked here; Swisher County comes in 29% higher.
The climate data behind this
The heating and cooling degree days behind this estimate — 4,179 HDD and 1,372 CDD (base 65°F, 1991-2020 normals) — come from TULIA, TX US, the nearest NOAA station with published normals, 1.8 miles from Swisher County's center. That combined heating-and-cooling load ranks Swisher County 1867th nationally by total degree days — the 41th percentile. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Swisher County sits in moisture regime B (dry), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
If the attic isn't bare
If Swisher 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 $195/year — payback about 11.7 years. Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Quotes and materials for this job
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 Swisher County, not a bid - contractors typically charge a $600 minimum regardless of job size.
Where these figures come from
Swisher 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.