Ywca Women's Residence

How does Ywca Women's Residence compare with other residence hall/dormitory buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 13 residence hall/dormitory buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. Ywca Women's Residence's ENERGY STAR score of 78 compares with an average of 80 across the 9 that report a score; it scores higher than 33% of them and lower than 56%. Its site EUI of 31.7 kBtu/ft² is about 39% below the average of 51.6 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 0.2 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 87% below the group average of 1.4 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 107,572 sq ft, it is about 31% above the average floor area of 82,288 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1913, 49 years earlier than the group's average year built (1962). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 702 residence hall/dormitory buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 70 and a site EUI of 70.7 kBtu/ft².

How has Ywca Women's Residence's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Ywca Women's Residence, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 71 in 2015 to 78 in 2025 (+7 points); its best year on file was 2024, at 99. Site EUI moved from 53.6 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 31.7 kBtu/ft² (2025), a 41% decrease. Reported emissions went from 231 tCO₂e to 19 tCO₂e over the same span (down 92%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 78 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 78 means the building performs better than about 78% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 78 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. Ywca Women's Residence's 31.7 kBtu/ft² across 107,572 sq ft works out to about 3.4 billion Btu (999 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 88.7 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 943,792 kWh of electricity for the year.

Which law requires Ywca Women's Residence to report its energy use?

Ywca Women's Residence 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:294:2025). 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.