The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that three Seattle apartment buildings are among the first 17 existing multifamily housing properties to earn ENERGY STAR certification for superior energy performance. The recognition signifies that these pioneering properties are more energy efficient than 75 percent of similar properties nationwide, and that they are among the first to tap the energy efficiency potential within the multifamily housing industry. Congratulations to:
- Aspira Apartments, Managed by Riverstone Residential Group. Read more about how TIAA-CREF improved Aspira’s energy efficiency with this case study.
- Circa Green Lake Apartments, Managed by Pinnacle.
- Prescott Wallingford, Managed by Riverstone Residential Group
All properties are owned by TIAA-CREF and had technical assistance from JDM Associates.
To date more than 1,500 Seattle multifamily properties have already taken a big step towards ENERGY STAR certification by benchmarking their properties with EPA’s Portfolio Manager, as required by Seattle’s Energy Benchmarking and Reporting law. This law applies to all multifamily properties 20,000 square feet or more.
Already Benchmarking? Learn Your Score
The City of Seattle encourages all multifamily owners and managers that have benchmarked to login to their Portfolio Manager account to learn new score, which was assigned by EPA to properties with 20 units or more. In many cases, managers may need to correct a few details about their property, including the number of units and bedrooms, to obtain an accurate score. For tips, use this quick guide, or contact the Seattle helpdesk at energybenchmarking@seattle.gov or 206-727-8484 (8–5, Mon–Fri).
Or check out these free workshops:
- ENERGY STAR for Multifamily, Wednesday 12/17/14: Details and registration >
- Tune-Up Your Account (Commercial), Thursday 12/11/14: Details and registration >
More About the ENERGY STAR Score
EPA’s estimates show that multifamily properties nationwide can become 30 percent more efficient by 2020, unlocking $9 billion in energy savings and preventing annual greenhouse gas emissions roughly equivalent to the average annual output from over four million U.S. households.
The new 1-100 ENERGY STAR score and certification for existing multifamily properties is based on nationally representative survey data provided by Fannie Mae and will be integrated into other green building certification programs, including the U.S. Green Building Council’s popular Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system. It is the first time existing multifamily properties have been able to be certified as ENERGY STAR. Previously, only new construction multifamily properties have been able to earn certification by meeting prescriptive design requirements for high performance.
More on the first multifamily properties to earn the ENERGY STAR: www.energystar.gov/multifamilyhousing