Rainier Malt House

How does Rainier Malt House compare with other non-refrigerated warehouse buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 164 non-refrigerated warehouse buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. Rainier Malt House's ENERGY STAR score of 81 compares with an average of 58 across the 117 that report a score; it scores higher than 74% of them and lower than 21%. Its site EUI of 24.3 kBtu/ft² is about 20% below the average of 30.5 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 0.4 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 56% below the group average of 0.9 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 72,859 sq ft, it is about 24% above the average floor area of 58,727 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1904, 56 years earlier than the group's average year built (1960). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 4,723 non-refrigerated warehouse buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 66 and a site EUI of 26.0 kBtu/ft².

How has Rainier Malt House's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Rainier Malt House, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 54 in 2015 to 81 in 2025 (+27 points). Site EUI moved from 20.9 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 24.3 kBtu/ft² (2025), an 16% increase. Reported emissions went from 15 tCO₂e to 30 tCO₂e over the same span (up 99%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 81 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 81 means the building performs better than about 81% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 81 falls in band B — above median (70–84). 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. Rainier Malt House's 24.3 kBtu/ft² across 72,859 sq ft works out to about 1.8 billion Btu (519 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 57.9 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 397,263 kWh of electricity and 4,223 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Rainier Malt House to report its energy use?

Rainier Malt House 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:37248:2025). 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.