Energy Efficiency and Building Codes in Kansas

Background

In 2009, Kansas received $96 million in federal Recovery Act funds from the U.S. Department of Energy (the Kansas Energy Office received $47 million). Like other states that received these funds, Kansas provided assurances that it would make progress on several initiatives, including the adoption of energy codes for residential and commercial buildings, as specified in H.R. 1, Section 410:

• The state, or applicable units of local government, will adopt a building energy code for residential buildings that achieves energy savings equivalent to the 2009 IECC standards and, for commercial buildings, the ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-2007 standard.
• The state will develop a plan for jurisdictions to achieve compliance within 8 years of the date of enactment in at least 90 percent of new or renovated residential and commercial building space.

Energy Efficiency Building Codes Working Group

To assist the State in complying with these federal building code requirements, the Kansas Corporation Commission established the Energy Efficiency Building Codes Working Group in May 2009. The Working Group held several meetings in 2009 and 2010 and adopted a preliminary to meet the following goals for Kansas:

• By 2017, 90% of new and renovated residential structures meet the 2009 IECC standard.
• By 2017, 90% of new and renovated commercial structures meet the ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007.

The Working Group understands that Kansas is a Home Rule State and endorsed an approach that encourages voluntary adoption by local jurisdictions and the development of effective equivalency options for builders and owners.

The State's preliminary plan for achieving compliance builds on the existing energy efficiency disclosure requirement for new construction (see KSA 66-1228) and includes the following:

1. Target larger jurisdictions and those with the most building activity and encourage voluntary adoption of building energy codes.
2. Develop easy-to-use enforcement checklist, based on the existing Kansas Energy Efficiency Disclosure form.
3. Promote residential and commercial retrofits through statewide deployment of Efficiency Kansas, the Facility Conservation Improvement Program (FCIP), and the Weatherization Assistance Program.
4. Amend KSA 66-1227 to adopt the target energy codes as "applicable state standards" for new and renovated residential and commercial construction and to officially encourage voluntary adoption of such codes by local jurisdictions.
5. Amend KSA 66-1228 to update Kansas Energy Efficiency Disclosure Form for new residential construction using IECC 2009 standards.

Additional Information

Currently, Kansas has adopted the 2006 IECC as the applicable state standard for new commercial and industrial structures (see KSA 66-1227). The Kansas Energy Office compiled a summary of 55 local jurisdictions that identifies the residential and commercial building codes currently adopted by the State's larger jurisdictions.

For more information, please contact , Educational Projects Coordinator, Kansas Energy Office.