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Missoula County launches Home Upgrade Hub to help residents plan energy-efficient home retrofits
Summary
The county’s new Home Upgrade Hub, run by the Department of Ecology and Extension, will provide DIY assessment tools, retrofit planning help, contractor engagement and a March workshop series; organizers aim to address aging housing stock and reduce building emissions.
Callie Foster, climate resiliency educator with Missoula County’s Department of Ecology and Extension, outlined the Home Upgrade Hub, a new county initiative to help residents plan and implement home-energy retrofits and resilient landscaping.
Foster said the hub aims to be “Missoula County’s resource for healthy and efficient homes,” offering do-it-yourself home-assessment resources, project planning, guidance on rebates and incentives, public education and an “engaged contractors” list. “We’re really trying to provide resources and act as a one-stop shop, where any county resident can come and access information and resources,” Foster said.
The hub will launch publicly with an event and a four-week workshop series running Thursdays in March (sessions March 6–27) covering home-energy assessment, retrofit planning, budgeting and incentives, and building-envelope improvements such as air sealing and insulation. Sessions are free; registration is encouraged and space is limited.
Foster presented county housing stock data to explain the need: she said 53% of county houses were built before 1980, 24% between 1980 and 1999, and the remaining 23% after 2000, noting older homes often need updated appliances and insulation. She also cited emissions and indoor-air-quality concerns, saying building gas use accounts for approximately 23% of Missoula’s emissions and that homes with gas stoves often register substantially higher indoor nitrogen dioxide levels than homes with electric stoves.
The Home Upgrade Hub will provide contractor bid-walk guidance and hopes to assemble an engaged-contractor list; Foster said her colleague Corey Dads is leading contractor outreach. The hub will also pursue resilient landscaping resources focused on rural defensible space and urban heat-island mitigation.
Foster invited community councils to request workshops in their neighborhoods and said the hub will provide one-on-one appointments for deeper guidance once capacity grows. Contact and event information will be available at missouladeuplace.org.
No formal county action was taken at the meeting; this was an informational presentation and outreach request.
