Taylor County, TX Insulation Payback
Taylor County attic insulation, by the numbers
Taylor County sits in IECC climate zone 3 (Hot-Dry) — intense summer heat with low humidity, where attic radiant heat gain is the main driver. For a currently uninsulated attic, DOE and ENERGY STAR recommend building up to R-49. For an attic around 1,000 square feet, closing the gap from R-2 to R-49 costs around $2,820 and saves an estimated $1,091 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 $739 a year on the heating side, $352 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Taylor County lands in the 24th percentile nationally. Zone 3 alone covers 690 counties in this dataset, and Taylor County comes in 254th by savings. Texas averages $1,035/year across the counties tracked here; Taylor County comes in 5% higher.
Taylor County's actual weather, not a national average
Taylor County's climate figures — 2,785 heating and 2,209 cooling degree days a year — are read from MERKEL 12 SW, TX US, 13.6 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. Combined heating and cooling load puts Taylor County in the 26th percentile of this 3,162-county dataset. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Taylor County sits in moisture regime B (dry), 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 $147/year saved (~11-year payback). Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Next steps for a Taylor County attic
Actual quotes will vary by attic access, existing debris, and whether the job needs air sealing first. Treat the $2,820 figure above as a planning number for Taylor County, not a bid - contractors typically charge a $600 minimum regardless of job size.
Where these figures come from
Taylor 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.