Tsue Chong Foods

How does Tsue Chong Foods 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. Tsue Chong Foods's ENERGY STAR score of 83 compares with an average of 58 across the 117 that report a score; it scores higher than 79% of them and lower than 17%. Its site EUI of 12.6 kBtu/ft² is about 59% 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 0.1 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 92% below the group average of 0.9 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 33,238 sq ft, it is about 43% below the average floor area of 58,727 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1992, 32 years later 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 Tsue Chong Foods's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Tsue Chong Foods, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 11 in 2015 to 83 in 2025 (+72 points); its best year on file was 2022, at 85. Site EUI moved from 53.2 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 12.6 kBtu/ft² (2025), a 76% decrease. Reported emissions went from 10 tCO₂e to 2 tCO₂e over the same span (down 76%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 83 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 83 means the building performs better than about 83% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 83 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. Tsue Chong Foods's 12.6 kBtu/ft² across 33,238 sq ft works out to about 0.4 billion Btu (123 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 35.3 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 122,696 kWh of electricity for the year.

Which law requires Tsue Chong Foods to report its energy use?

Tsue Chong Foods 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:27141:2025). 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.