Schmitz Park Elem School (Sps-District)

How does Schmitz Park Elem School (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. Schmitz Park Elem School (Sps-District)'s ENERGY STAR score of 45 compares with an average of 71 across the 152 that report a score; it scores higher than 13% of them and lower than 87%. Its site EUI of 38.7 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 38.3 kBtu/ft². Its emissions intensity of 1.2 kgCO₂e/ft² is roughly in line with the group average of 1.1 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 39,199 sq ft, it is about half of the average floor area of 79,329 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1962, 8 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 Schmitz Park Elem School (Sps-District)'s energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Schmitz Park Elem School (Sps-District), covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 80 in 2015 to 45 in 2025 (-35 points); its best year on file was 2020, at 91. Site EUI moved from 40.0 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 38.7 kBtu/ft² (2025), a 3% decrease. Reported emissions went from 58 tCO₂e to 56 tCO₂e over the same span (down 2%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 45 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 45 means the building performs better than about 45% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 45 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 30 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. Schmitz Park Elem School (Sps-District)'s 38.7 kBtu/ft² across 39,199 sq ft works out to about 1.5 billion Btu (445 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 73.4 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 267,237 kWh of electricity and 9,752 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Schmitz Park Elem School (Sps-District) to report its energy use?

Schmitz Park Elem School (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:25217:2025). 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.