Westside School

How does Westside School 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. Westside School's ENERGY STAR score of 97 compares with an average of 71 across the 152 that report a score; it scores higher than 97% of them and lower than 2%. Its site EUI of 20.4 kBtu/ft² is about half of the average of 38.3 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 90% below the group average of 1.1 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 35,844 sq ft, it is about half of the average floor area of 79,329 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1977, 7 years later 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 Westside School's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Westside School, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 4 in 2015 to 97 in 2025 (+93 points); its best year on file was 2019, at 99. Site EUI moved from 32.4 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 20.4 kBtu/ft² (2025), a 37% decrease. Reported emissions went from 7 tCO₂e to 6 tCO₂e over the same span (down 9%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 97 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 97 means the building performs better than about 97% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 97 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. Westside School's 20.4 kBtu/ft² across 35,844 sq ft works out to about 0.7 billion Btu (214 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 57.0 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 317,145 kWh of electricity for the year.

Which law requires Westside School to report its energy use?

Westside School 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:23762:2025). 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.