Ballard Warehouse

How does Ballard Warehouse 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 Warehouse's ENERGY STAR score of 99 compares with an average of 58 across the 117 that report a score; it scores higher than 99% of them. Its site EUI of 6.0 kBtu/ft² is about 80% 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 0.3 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 71% below the group average of 0.9 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 63,240 sq ft, it is roughly in line with the average floor area of 58,727 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1941, 19 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 Warehouse's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Ballard Warehouse, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 100 in 2015 to 99 in 2025 (-1 points); its best year on file was 2015, at 100. Site EUI moved from 2.9 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 6.0 kBtu/ft² (2025), an 107% increase. Reported emissions went from 5 tCO₂e to 17 tCO₂e over the same span (up 209%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 99 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 99 means the building performs better than about 99% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 99 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 Warehouse's 6.0 kBtu/ft² across 63,240 sq ft works out to about 0.4 billion Btu (111 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 7.5 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 13,195 kWh of electricity and 3,343 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Ballard Warehouse to report its energy use?

Ballard Warehouse 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:530:2025). 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.