Whittier Elementary (Sps-District)

How does Whittier Elementary (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. Whittier Elementary (Sps-District)'s ENERGY STAR score of 71 compares with an average of 71 across the 152 that report a score; it scores higher than 34% of them and lower than 61%. Its site EUI of 34.8 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with 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 0.9 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 16% below the group average of 1.1 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 67,235 sq ft, it is about 15% below the average floor area of 79,329 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1999, 29 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 Whittier Elementary (Sps-District)'s energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Whittier Elementary (Sps-District), covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 87 in 2015 to 71 in 2025 (-16 points); its best year on file was 2017, at 92. Site EUI moved from 34.3 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 34.8 kBtu/ft² (2025), an 1% increase. Reported emissions went from 40 tCO₂e to 63 tCO₂e over the same span (up 56%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 71 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 71 means the building performs better than about 71% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 71 falls in band B — above median (70–84). It sits 4 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. Whittier Elementary (Sps-District)'s 34.8 kBtu/ft² across 67,235 sq ft works out to about 2.3 billion Btu (686 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 68.5 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 367,962 kWh of electricity and 11,332 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Whittier Elementary (Sps-District) to report its energy use?

Whittier Elementary (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:237:2025). 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.