Highland Park School (Sps-District)

How does Highland Park School (Sps-District) compare with other K-12 school buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 153 K-12 school buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. Highland Park School (Sps-District)'s ENERGY STAR score of 63 compares with an average of 71 across the 152 that report a score; it scores higher than 24% of them and lower than 74%. Its site EUI of 37.5 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 38.3 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 0.8 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 26% below the group average of 1.1 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 71,714 sq ft, it is roughly in line with the average floor area of 79,329 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1999, 29 years later than the group's average year built (1970). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 6,548 K-12 school buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 64 and a site EUI of 52.7 kBtu/ft².

How has Highland Park School (Sps-District)'s energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Highland Park School (Sps-District), covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 90 in 2015 to 63 in 2025 (-27 points); its best year on file was 2015, at 90. Site EUI moved from 31.2 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 37.5 kBtu/ft² (2025), an 20% increase. Reported emissions went from 29 tCO₂e to 58 tCO₂e over the same span (up 98%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 63 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 63 means the building performs better than about 63% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 63 falls in band C — below median (55–69). It sits 12 points below 75, the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification. 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. Highland Park School (Sps-District)'s 37.5 kBtu/ft² across 71,714 sq ft works out to about 2.7 billion Btu (788 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 82.7 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 523,200 kWh of electricity and 9,248 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Highland Park School (Sps-District) to report its energy use?

Highland Park School (Sps-District) 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:273:2025). 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.