Northwest School Multipurpose Facility

How does Northwest School Multipurpose Facility 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. Northwest School Multipurpose Facility's ENERGY STAR score of 18 compares with an average of 71 across the 152 that report a score; it scores higher than 5% of them and lower than 94%. Its site EUI of 64.5 kBtu/ft² is about 68% above the average of 38.3 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 1.4 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 27% above the group average of 1.1 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 35,780 sq ft, it is about half of the average floor area of 79,329 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2014, 44 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 Northwest School Multipurpose Facility's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Northwest School Multipurpose Facility, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 67 in 2015 to 18 in 2025 (-49 points); its best year on file was 2015, at 67. Site EUI moved from 54.4 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 64.5 kBtu/ft² (2025), an 19% increase. Reported emissions went from 45 tCO₂e to 50 tCO₂e over the same span (up 12%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 18 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 18 means the building performs better than about 18% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 18 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 57 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. Northwest School Multipurpose Facility's 64.5 kBtu/ft² across 35,780 sq ft works out to about 2.3 billion Btu (676 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 141.1 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 439,509 kWh of electricity and 8,095 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Northwest School Multipurpose Facility to report its energy use?

Northwest School Multipurpose Facility 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:49858:2025). 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.