Japanese Presbyterian Church

How does Japanese Presbyterian Church compare with other worship facility buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 67 worship facility buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. Japanese Presbyterian Church's ENERGY STAR score of 93 compares with an average of 50 across the 52 that report a score; it scores higher than 96% of them and lower than 2%. Its site EUI of 16.1 kBtu/ft² is about 58% below the average of 38.1 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 0.6 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 60% below the group average of 1.4 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 22,952 sq ft, it is about 30% below the average floor area of 32,782 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1963, 15 years later than the group's average year built (1948). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 1,035 worship facility buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 50 and a site EUI of 47.8 kBtu/ft².

How has Japanese Presbyterian Church's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Japanese Presbyterian Church, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 98 in 2015 to 93 in 2025 (-5 points); its best year on file was 2015, at 98. Site EUI moved from 20.1 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 16.1 kBtu/ft² (2025), a 20% decrease. Reported emissions went from 18 tCO₂e to 13 tCO₂e over the same span (down 29%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 93 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 93 means the building performs better than about 93% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 93 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. Japanese Presbyterian Church's 16.1 kBtu/ft² across 22,952 sq ft works out to about 0.4 billion Btu (108 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 27.0 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 38,790 kWh of electricity and 2,375 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Japanese Presbyterian Church to report its energy use?

Japanese Presbyterian Church 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:27080:2025). 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.