Ballard Hardware

How does Ballard Hardware compare with other non-refrigerated warehouse buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 164 non-refrigerated warehouse buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. Ballard Hardware's ENERGY STAR score of 98 compares with an average of 58 across the 117 that report a score; it scores higher than 95% of them and lower than 1%. Its site EUI of 8.5 kBtu/ft² is about 72% below the average of 30.5 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 0.1 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 94% below the group average of 0.9 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 42,500 sq ft, it is about 28% below the average floor area of 58,727 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1927, 33 years earlier than the group's average year built (1960). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 4,723 non-refrigerated warehouse buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 66 and a site EUI of 26.0 kBtu/ft².

How has Ballard Hardware's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Ballard Hardware, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 100 in 2015 to 98 in 2025 (-2 points); its best year on file was 2015, at 100. Site EUI moved from 4.8 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 8.5 kBtu/ft² (2025), an 77% increase. Reported emissions went from 1 tCO₂e to 2 tCO₂e over the same span (up 59%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 98 mean?

ENERGY STAR scores run from 1 to 100 and are computed by the EPA's Portfolio Manager as a percentile against similar buildings nationwide, adjusted for climate, size and use: a score of 98 means the building performs better than about 98% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 98 falls in band A — high performer (85–100). Scores of 75 or higher meet the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification; certification itself is a separate, verified application that the disclosure does not record. In Seattle, 69% of scored buildings are at 75 or above.

Site energy-use intensity (EUI) is the energy a building uses on site in a year divided by its floor area, in thousand Btu per square foot — lower is more efficient. Ballard Hardware's 8.5 kBtu/ft² across 42,500 sq ft works out to about 0.4 billion Btu (106 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 23.9 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 106,440 kWh of electricity for the year.

Which law requires Ballard Hardware to report its energy use?

Ballard Hardware reports under the Seattle Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (SMC 22.920), the legal basis of Seattle's Building Energy Benchmarking program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2025 disclosure (source record seattle:22650:2025). Seattle's Building Emissions Performance Standard (adopted 2023) applies to buildings over 20,000 sq ft: benchmarking verification is due 2027–2030 and initial emissions targets 2031–2035, reaching net zero by 2041–2050, with fines for non-compliance.