Seattle’s Building Tune-Up program helps building owners identify smart, responsible ways to reduce energy and water costs. Like cars and bikes, all buildings need to be tuned regularly to keep them running as efficiently as possible. Seattle buildings that are 50,000 sq. ft. and larger are required to complete a building tune-up every five years. As part of Seattle’s ongoing climate leadership, the City committed to completing tune-ups at on City buildings one year in advance of deadlines for the private market. The results of these early tune-ups are starting to come in and we’re pleased to share them with the public.
Building managers at the Seattle Justice Center completed all tune-up actions by last spring. After a year’s worth of tracking and adjusting for weather normalized use, the results demonstrate notable improvements in both energy and carbon savings. Before the tune-up, the Justice Center’s “energy use intensity” (EUI) was 73.8 and now the building’s EUI is 59.8. EUI is a common building energy metric that expresses the measurement of a building’s annual energy consumption relative to its gross square-footage.
The improvements in the Seattle Justice Center’s EUI represent an overall energy savings of 19% and a 25% reduction in carbon emissions. Additionally, the upgrades will bring an annual savings of $57,000!
For more information on the specific corrective actions that were performed to achieve these savings, check out the Seattle Justice Center Tune-Up Case Study.