Updated Building Codes Mean Safer, Healthier Homes for Kansas City

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KANSAS CITY, MO (May 2, 2024)

As Kansas City debates the future of its building codes, Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) urges lawmakers to consider what’s at stake: the safety, health, and long-term affordability of our homes. Kansas City’s current energy code not only ensures new and renovated homes and buildings meet modern safety and energy standards but also keeps utility bills low and living conditions healthy.

With a recent proposed ordinance set to push the code back to 2012 levels, MEC is asking council leaders to consider the health and safety risks to most Kansas City residents if the rollback is allowed to pass.

“Strong building codes are not bureaucratic red tape; they are safeguards that ensure every home built in Kansas City is a safe and cost-effective place for us and our children to thrive,” said Kelly Gilbert, MEC’s Executive Director. “Lowering our standards threatens public health and raises long-term costs for both homeowners and renters — it undermines our community’s resiliency.”

Why Building Codes Help Everyday People

Health and Safety: Updated codes mean new and renovated homes will be able to handle extreme weather, reducing health emergencies during heat waves and cold snaps. They also ensure better air quality and indoor climate control, crucial to saving the lives of asthmatic children and the elderly, as well as anyone with a chronic illness sensitive to mold, respiratory issues, and more.

Economic Savings: Energy-efficient homes reduce utility bills — enough to give relief to your wallet. With a home updated to meet KCMO’s current energy code, you could save hundreds in utility cost per year.

Community Impact: Strong codes drive quality construction, bring quality jobs, and ensure more Kansas City homes, new and renovated, owned and rented, are future proofed.

Technological Relevance: The new energy code incorporates knowledge and technology to keep the Kansas City region updated and relevant.

Your Voice Counts

As the KCMO City Council discusses loosening building codes to relieve strains on builders and developers, your voice is important. Let’s not cut corners when health and safety is at stake. Reach out to your council members. Attend the Finance, Governance, and Public Safety Committee meeting on Tuesday, May 14. Show your support for keeping strong building codes that protect everyone with a home.

“Every email, every call, and every raised hand at a council meeting adds up,” said Mary English, Buildings Department Manager at MEC. “Let’s remind our leaders that quality homes mean good health and safety. They need to know that cheaper construction causes higher utility bills at home. Rolling back the code is simply bad for Kansas City.”

For more information on how you can get involved, visit metroenergy.org/energy-code-faq.

About Metropolitan Energy Center:

Metropolitan Energy Center is a non-profit organization that has been working since 1983 to promote energy efficiency, environmental health, and economic vitality in the Kansas City region. MEC believes in building a sustainable future through community education, advocacy, and partnership.

 

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Architects inspecting plans

Performance Compliance Path Offers Sustainable Solution Amid Rising Home Building Costs

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KANSAS CITY, MO (April 25, 2024)

Amid the rising steel frames and freshly poured foundations of Kansas City’s bustling construction sites, a pressing debate has emerged over the true cost of building to the city’s newly updated energy code. While one vocal local professional association has recently been speaking publicly about staggering $30,000 average per-home cost increases due to updated building codes, ongoing code compliance work by building professionals partnered with Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) has revealed more grounded estimates of about $10,000 in increased costs. 

This stark contrast raises questions about the real economic impact of these codes on housing affordability, commercial building costs, and construction pace. Public complaints that the recent code update has led to a permits backlog and a construction slowdown do not tell the whole story. In fact, current codes provide builders and contractors with multiple shovel-ready paths to affordably meeting codes requirements. 

Most of the complaints are focused on only one choice for compliance — the strict Prescriptive Path. But that choice is not the only one. Metro-wide today, builders and contractors also use the Performance Path. This customizable option not only follows all recently updated building codes, it also has long provided an efficient and affordable way forward for new and existing construction projects. 

The Performance Path option was developed in earlier iterations of International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and is currently used by cities and counties across the metro and the state of Missouri. Projects use it to inexpensively tailor solutions that will achieve better Home Energy Rating System (HERS) scores. A building’s HERS score reflects its ability to affordably maintain good occupant health and comfort. 

Existing Homes Can and Do Meet Code

The Performance Compliance Path isn’t only for new construction. Builders and contractors often upgrade existing building stock that also must meet updated codes. Mary English, Program Manager for building sciences at MEC, explains the need for this additional focus. “The majority of the Kansas City region’s residential units are in buildings constructed before the latest energy standards were conceived — therefore, retrofitting existing homes is equally important to improve overall public health. And there are very robust federal funds available to help pay contractors to do this work both in new construction and retrofits.” 

Existing property renovation can be more cost-effective than new construction. Even for retrofit projects, the Performance Compliance Path provides a practical, affordable way forward for builders and contractors. By improving older homes, contractors in the Kansas City region can make significant strides toward improving public health, while achieving smaller building carbon footprints. 

Dual Approach Means Healthier Residents

Builders and contractors are Kansas City’s heroes when they build energy-compliant new buildings and upgrade existing ones. These structural experts can prevent future occupant health problems and increase indoor comfort levels. 

Energy efficient buildings lead to good health. This concept is now widely accepted in the healthcare industry. A recent joint study by MEC and Children’s Mercy Kansas City indicated that asthmatic children living in energy-efficient homes experienced significantly fewer asthma-related medical emergencies. When building standards are followed, Kansas City residents have healthier living environments and lower healthcare costs. 

“Contractors who use the Performance Path can achieve great building quality, which in turn reduces long-term building occupancy costs,” said Kelly Gilbert, Executive Director of MEC. “It’s a strategic approach to ensuring that Kansas City’s new and existing structures are affordable, energy efficient, and healthy for everyone.” 

About Metropolitan Energy Center:

Metropolitan Energy Center is a non-profit organization based in Missouri, established in 1983. Through community partnerships and business relationships, MEC supports energy conservation projects that build resource efficiency, environmental health, and economic vitality. The organization provides extensive resources about rebates, tax credits, and financial assistance to anyone looking to upgrade a property. They want to see the benefits of building performance accessible to all people.

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The wall outside Kansas City Public Library's Downtown Branch

Metropolitan Energy Center awarded $400,000 from U.S. Department of Energy’s Buildings UP Prize

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MEC receives $6.8 million to Support Resilient and Efficient Building Codes and Policy

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July 12, 2023

Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) is pleased to announce we were one of 27 applicants to get the green light from the U.S. Department of Energy to provide workforce development in support of better building policy.

MEC brought together partnerships within their extensive and diverse multistate network of 30 regional, state, and local community partners—including two growing community-based organizations—to build a workforce of energy-efficiency-related vocations in disadvantaged communities in urban and rural areas across Kansas and Missouri.

The selection rewards months of collaboration in response to our region’s need to upgrade its aging buildings to be more efficient, durable and healthy for human habitation. The initiative intends to support communities’ efforts to adhere to best-practice energy efficient construction for new and existing buildings—buildings science practices that lead to better human health, comfort, affordability, and resiliency in built environments.

The construction industry is facing change after the City of Kansas City, MO led a recent effort to update critical energy policy in our region. Other municipalities are expected to follow suit, an additional workforce is needed to support these efforts. Unfortunately, adequate training for energy efficiency and building science haven’t always been available. This initiative corrects that issue.

“As technologies improve and the industry learns more about the connection between building efficiency and human health, it is imperative that every community has access to resources to implement updated building construction policies,” said Mary English, MEC’s Building Performance Program Manager. “Especially as extreme weather events intensify, creating a skilled labor force to work in building performance vocations will lead to better buildings, better jobs, and more liquidity in the communities that have been left out of economic benefits by similar programs in the past.”

MEC is eager to begin working on the project with partners to equip communities across Kansas and Missouri with safe and healthy places to live, work and play for years to come.

About the Bi-State Partnership: Our partnership includes these organizations: Beyond Housing; Boys and Girls Club of the Ozarks; Cabanne District Community Development Corporation; City of Columbia, Missouri; City of Kansas City, Missouri; Climate Action KC (Building Energy Exchange Kansas City); Climate + Energy Project; Hathmore Technologies; J. Gordon Community Development Corporation; Kansas City Kansas Community College; Kansas Department of Commerce and Office of Apprenticeship; LivZero, LLC; Mid-America Regional Council; Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance; Missouri Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs; Missouri Botanical Garden and EarthWays Center; Missouri Gateway Green Building Council; Building Energy Exchange St. Louis; Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development; Missouri University of Science and Technology; National Institute for Construction Excellence; RATERusa, LLC; Resiliency at Work 2.0 Career and Technical Education; State of Missouri, Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Energy; Strategic Workforce Development; University of Missouri – Columbia; Verdatek Solutions, LLC; Workforce Partnership (Kansas); Washington Wheatley Neighborhood Association. 

We are funded by readers like you. Even $5 helps expand clean energy access.
Your donation helps scale new technologies—tools that are public-ready, but only utilized by people of moderate affluence at a minimum. Clean-energy technology is a game changer, not only for the planet, but also for small businesses and low-income households. Thank you for helping to broaden clean tech's horizons.
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Study Links Home Weatherization to Improvements in Health for Children with Asthma

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Kansas City, Mo. (August 1, 2023)

Results from a new preliminary study indicate that weatherizing living spaces can dramatically improve children’s health by improving indoor air quality and reducing exposure to outdoor air pollutants. The research project came about due to previous work and research of the Children’s Mercy Kansas City (CMKC) Healthy Homes Program, where hospital staff witnessed positive health outcomes with many of their young asthma patients whose families had enrolled in the program and received home weatherization repairs.  

Dr. Elizabeth J. Friedman, MD, Medical Director of Environmental Health at CMKC said, “This is a great example of both how much our built environment can impact our health and why it is so important to consider our patients’ lives beyond our clinic walls.” 

Weatherization is a building upgrade process that keeps indoor air in and outdoor air out. A good weatherization upgrade keeps you safe and comfortable in your home, no matter what the weather is doing. For nearly a decade, Kansas City-based nonprofit Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) administered weatherization and energy efficiency renovations under various partnerships, including the City of Kansas City, MO’s EnergyWorks KC (EWKC) program. 

A research partnership with MEC, CMKC and the Center for Economic Information at the University of Missouri Kansas City (CEI) brought even bigger data to the table for a more comprehensive picture of potential health improvements. Staff at CMKC and CEI matched MEC-weatherized homes with CMKC historic health data for acute care visits in children with asthma living in the homes. A research database maintained by CMKC provided encounter-level historic pediatric asthma data, and the CEI team collected additional geographic and census data as part of the KC Health CORE research collaboration with CMKC. 

The team compared frequency and severity of healthcare visits before and after the upgrade and found “as much as a 33% reduction in the frequency of acute care visits for children with asthma” who resided in homes that received energy efficiency improvements. 

Kevin Kennedy, Environmental Health Program, Children’s Mercy Kansas City, said that for their patients’ families, the preliminary report indicates that “even if you participate in a program like this weatherization program just to make improvements to your home, and not because you were thinking about a health impact, there can also be big improvements in your health, especially if you have a chronic respiratory condition like asthma.” 

Kelly Gilbert, Executive Director of MEC said, “this stunning result demands more research to discover which home upgrades have the biggest impact on health, and we look forward to supporting that work in the future.” 

The research team is preparing to develop and submit a peer-reviewed academic report with the goal of publication in a research journal later this year. 

The preliminary report is available here.

We are funded by readers like you. Even $5 helps expand clean energy access.
Your donation helps scale new technologies—tools that are public-ready, but only utilized by people of moderate affluence at a minimum. Clean-energy technology is a game changer, not only for the planet, but also for small businesses and low-income households. Thank you for helping to broaden clean tech's horizons.
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Helping Rural Towns Stay Ahead of the Technology Game

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written by MEC Greater Kansas Clean Cities coordinator Jenna Znamenak

This article chronicles recent efforts by Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) and its Clean Cities Coalitions to make electric vehicle operations a reality in areas that are often left out of new connectivity trends. 

To a person who has always lived in a highly populated city, connectivity is a daily reality. Cities get the fastest internet, the most cell coverage, and more nicely paved trafficways. But for the 20% of the population of the United States who live in rural areas, equal connectivity has never been the norm. 

As reported in the January/February issue of the Kansas Government Journal by Mike Scanlon, City Manager of Osawatomie, Kansas, “It is no secret that rural communities are historically left behind when the United States adopts the latest technology.” And in recent months, more rural leaders are seeing a potential pitfall that could widen the access gap for their communities: the advancement of electric vehicles (EVs). 

As the latest consumer-use scenarios are analyzed and early-adopter reviews roll in, the reality is clear: EVs cost less money to fuel and to maintain than their gasoline-fueled counterparts. And with the recent monumental increases in grants and tax incentives for EV purchases, governments are becoming much more interested in EV funding pipelines than they are in vehicles fueled by oil pipelines. But urban and suburban governments are making the switch much faster than rural governments. 

Scanlon is not surprised, but he is hopeful that this time rural America can keep up with the trend. “By 2030 the federal government proposed that half of all new cars sold in the U.S. will be zero-emission vehicles, with 50,000 electric charging networks. By proactively supporting rural EV development now, we can prevent history from repeating itself.” His article in the Kansas Government Journal, co-written with MEC’s Central Kansas Clean Cities Coalition coordinator Jenna Znamenak, prepares rural leaders with real facts and funding connections so they can stay in the fight to stay connected. 

The most exciting grants on the list are the ones that get rid of nitrous-oxide-producing diesel school buses by helping school districts convert to EVs, for little to no cost to the schools. “These grants replace older school buses with electric school buses to reduce harmful emissions around children,” says Central Kansas Clean Cities coordinator Jenna Znamenak. But she says there are enough programs available through MEC’s grant assistance to help more institutions than just schools involved with the national sea-change. 

For many rural leaders, adapting to standardizing trends sounds like “small budgets with not much room for experimentation, time constraints that do not allow us the ability to learn about technology, and grant opportunities that can look like a 10-acre corn maze,” says Scanlon. “That’s why we’re here for you—we’ve helped connect local communities and fleets to easier funding for clean energy for the past 40 years,” says Znamenak, referring to MEC’s stockpile of resource-accessing tricks and their dependable grant assistance services. 

See the original article published in the Kansas Government Journal here. 

To stay current on all available funding, sign up for MEC’s free newsletter at metroenergy.org/newsletter-sign-up. To talk to an expert about your next clean energy project, call 816-531-7283.

We are funded by readers like you. Even $5 helps expand clean energy access.
Your donation helps scale new technologies—tools that are public-ready, but only utilized by people of moderate affluence at a minimum. Clean-energy technology is a game changer, not only for the planet, but also for small businesses and low-income households. Thank you for helping to broaden clean tech's horizons.
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MEC Selected for $5.2 Million Award from Department of Energy for Electric Transportation

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (November 8th, 2021) – The U.S. Department of Energy has selected Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) for a $5.2 million award to lead electric vehicle (EV) and charging station projects under the Low Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Vehicle Technologies Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment program.  Funded projects will reduce diesel fumes in the air we breathe by supporting EV purchases, charging station installations, and outreach efforts to notify communities of these resources.  The funds will also help small businesses and rural cities accelerate their transition to electric vehicles in Missouri and Kansas.

As part of the award program, eight businesses and municipalities in Kansas and Missouri have pledged more than 15% of their own project budgets in contributions to help smaller communities qualify for federal cost-share matching requirements.  These businesses and muncipalities operate within environmental justice areas, opportunity zones, and other underserved areas. In addition to sedans, they are replacing small and heavy trucks with electric models.  Diesel emissions from heavy vehicles and off-road machinery contribute to early deaths, asthma rates and family illness keeping people away from jobs and school.  Those are just some of the health and social impacts from diesel fumes that affect the community members MEC serves.

Additionally, thanks to this award and generous overmatch contributions from some funding recipients, MEC can offer a small grant program for underserved communities.  Small grant recipients will define for themselves what project features would be locally most beneficial, like projects to install public EV charging stations in parking lots and curbsides near multi-unit residential complexes and retail businesses.  The success of the program depends upon placing EV charging stations within underserved or rural areas that feel the effects of environmental justice issues.

Executive director Kelly Gilbert said, “MEC will use our access to reach and empower communities in underserved urban and rural areas.  We will provide funds that communities can use in the ways that they decide will best meet their local needs.  We’ve seen that publicly funded EV chargers are even less likely than privately funded chargers to land in underserved areas, and it is important to change that trend.”

The award is expected to be finalized and the project to begin in early 2022; small grants are expected to be available in 2023.  Organizations interested in learning more about the upcoming small grant program opportunities should contact Miriam Bouallegue at miriam@metroenergy.org.

We are funded by readers like you. Even $5 helps expand clean energy access.
Your donation helps scale new technologies—tools that are public-ready, but only utilized by people of moderate affluence at a minimum. Clean-energy technology is a game changer, not only for the planet, but also for small businesses and low-income households. Thank you for helping to broaden clean tech's horizons.
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COVID and the Intersection of Transportation and Health

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Guest Spotlight: City of Columbia Water & Light Sets the Green Standard for Energy Efficiency

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Guest Blog by Jane Hinds; Edited by Natalie Phillips

City of Columbia, Missouri Water & Light was recognized as one of the Department of Energy’s 2019 ENERGY STAR Partners of the Year. The City also achieved this award in 2018. This prestigious accomplishment recognizes Water & Light’s innovative and inclusive approach
to energy efficiency and its efforts to iterate and expand offerings to reach new clients, and improve more homes and rental properties. Applicants are evaluated based on collaboration with other utility providers, the accessibility of their programming and
the extent of the “whole-house approach” being accomplished.

“We are very excited to earn this award for a second year,” Director of Utilities Tad Johnsen said. “Since we initiated our Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program, we have been tailoring our programming to better coordinate with our partners and meet community needs while supporting other City initiatives. Receiving this recognition validates our efforts and incentivizes us to work towards higher goals.”

The 2019 ENERGY STAR Award winners are industry leaders in the production and sale of energy-efficient products and services, and in the development and adoption of strategies that provide substantial energy and money savings in the buildings where we live and
work. Columbia’s Home Performance with the ENERGY STAR program uses a whole-house approach to energy efficiency and offers rebates and low-interest loans to help residents achieve their energy efficiency goals. Average Home Performance participants see a twenty-five percent savings on their heating and cooling costs.

This program was initiated in 2008 and the Utility has since introduced additional programs such as the Employee Outreach Program which offers employees free home energy efficiency assessments, Enhanced Home Performance and Enhance Your Attic which focus on increasing access to income eligible residents, and Attic Plus which incentivizes landlords to insulate attics in smaller duplexes and condos with less attic space. Water & Light staff members also provide a Building Performance Institute certified contractor training
program, and partners with local co-op Boone Electric, to create consistency to ensure that all Columbia’s residents have the opportunity to benefit from energy efficiency improvements.

For more information about the City’s programming, visit ColumbiaPowerPartners.com.

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