West Seattle Thriftway

How does West Seattle Thriftway compare with other supermarket/grocery store buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 41 supermarket/grocery store buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. West Seattle Thriftway's ENERGY STAR score of 100 compares with an average of 70 across the 35 that report a score; it scores higher than 94% of them. Its site EUI of 132.2 kBtu/ft² is about 30% below the average of 188.2 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 6.0 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 44% above the group average of 4.2 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 33,706 sq ft, it is about 37% below the average floor area of 53,722 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1998, 11 years later than the group's average year built (1987). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 1,646 supermarket/grocery store buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 71 and a site EUI of 176.1 kBtu/ft².

How has West Seattle Thriftway's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for West Seattle Thriftway, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 24 in 2015 to 100 in 2025 (+76 points); its best year on file was 2024, at 100. Site EUI moved from 275.9 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 132.2 kBtu/ft² (2025), a 52% decrease. Reported emissions went from 202 tCO₂e to 192 tCO₂e over the same span (down 5%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 100 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: 100 is the top of the scale. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 100 falls in band A — high performer (85–100). 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. West Seattle Thriftway's 132.2 kBtu/ft² across 33,706 sq ft works out to about 4.5 billion Btu (1,306 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 172.9 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 181,191 kWh of electricity and 35,796 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires West Seattle Thriftway to report its energy use?

West Seattle Thriftway 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:27162:2025). 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.