Lowell Elementary (Sps-District)

How does Lowell Elementary (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. Lowell Elementary (Sps-District)'s ENERGY STAR score of 90 compares with an average of 71 across the 152 that report a score; it scores higher than 80% of them and lower than 15%. Its site EUI of 32.6 kBtu/ft² is about 15% below the average of 38.3 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.

At 73,769 sq ft, it is roughly in line with the average floor area of 79,329 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1925, 45 years earlier 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 Lowell Elementary (Sps-District)'s energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Lowell Elementary (Sps-District), covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 94 in 2015 to 90 in 2025 (-4 points); its best year on file was 2022, at 96. Site EUI moved from 32.8 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 32.6 kBtu/ft² (2025), a 1% decrease. Reported emissions went from 90 tCO₂e to 111 tCO₂e over the same span (up 24%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 90 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 90 means the building performs better than about 90% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 90 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. Lowell Elementary (Sps-District)'s 32.6 kBtu/ft² across 73,769 sq ft works out to about 2.4 billion Btu (705 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 52.1 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 218,720 kWh of electricity and 16,239 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Lowell Elementary (Sps-District) to report its energy use?

Lowell Elementary (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:25317:2025). 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.