Phinney Terrace

How does Phinney Terrace compare with other multifamily housing buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 1,971 multifamily housing buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. Phinney Terrace's ENERGY STAR score of 39 compares with an average of 83 across the 1,652 that report a score; it scores higher than 5% of them and lower than 95%. Its site EUI of 34.6 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 34.9 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 0.2 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 71% below the group average of 0.7 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 43,788 sq ft, it is about half of the average floor area of 86,468 sq ft for those buildings. Its 1984 construction date is close to the group's average year built (1983). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 59,945 multifamily housing buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 70 and a site EUI of 59.0 kBtu/ft².

How has Phinney Terrace's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Phinney Terrace, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 60 in 2021 to 39 in 2025 (-21 points); its best year on file was 2022, at 76. Site EUI moved from 32.3 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 34.6 kBtu/ft² (2025), an 7% increase. Reported emissions went from 8 tCO₂e to 9 tCO₂e over the same span (up 7%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 39 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 39 means the building performs better than about 39% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 39 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 36 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. Phinney Terrace's 34.6 kBtu/ft² across 43,788 sq ft works out to about 1.5 billion Btu (444 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 96.8 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 443,645 kWh of electricity for the year.

Which law requires Phinney Terrace to report its energy use?

Phinney Terrace 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:27436:2025). 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.