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2017 Building Performance Profiles Published

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The City of Seattle has published customized building performance profiles based on reported 2017 annual benchmarking data. Reports are available via our online mapping tool, and include details on energy use per square foot, ENERGY STAR scores, total consumption, greenhouse emissions, and more.

With three years of comprehensive energy consumption data, buildings can use their customized profiles to track their energy use over time and see how they stack up to their peers. The updated performance profiles now highlight each building’s climate impact and how it compares to buildings of the same primary use.

   Building Profile for City Hall

 

Check out your performance profile here!

 

Energy Benchmarking Deadline Extended to July 1st

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The benchmarking reporting deadline has been extended from April 1 to July 1, 2019 for submitting 2018 data.

Nonresidential and multifamily buildings 20,000 SF+ must update Portfolio Manager accounts with accurate space use details and consumption data for 2018. All buildings subject to the annual requirement must be able to generate a 2018 December ending Energy Use Intensity (EUI) and ENERGY STAR® score (if available). Your account must successfully share accurate data with the City of Seattle Annual Reporting Portfolio Manager account by July 1, 2019 to be considered compliant. See our How to Comply page.

Compliance can be confirmed starting mid-March. Use the Annual Update Checklist — even if already signed up for automated energy use updates from PSE or Seattle City Light.

If it’s your first time benchmarking, get started with the Compliance Checklist.

 

HELP DESK – EnergyBenchmarking@seattle.gov – 206.727.8484

Seattle’s Benchmarked Buildings Reduce Emissions Nearly 5%

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NEWS RELEASE

FROM THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY & ENVIRONMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:              Sara Wysocki, Office of Sustainability & Environment, sara.wysocki@seattle.gov

 

Seattle’s Benchmarked Buildings Reduce Emissions Nearly 5%

City’s largest buildings are using less energy and reducing climate pollution

 

SEATTLE (Sept. 26, 2018) – A new report released today by the Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment reveals that Seattle’s benchmarked buildings are reducing climate emissions, saving money, and improving performance. Seattle’s Energy Benchmarking ordinance went into effect in 2011 and requires owners of commercial and multifamily buildings 20,000 sq. ft. and larger to track their energy performance and report it annually to the City of Seattle.

“Seattle’s buildings are responsible for one-third of Seattle’s climate pollution. City programs like Energy Benchmarking give building owners the tools they need to be part of our climate solutions,” said Jessica Finn Coven, director of the Seattle Office of Sustainability & Environment. “Tracking and reporting energy use is the first step towards improving building performance and this analysis shows that Seattle is on the right track.”

The Seattle Energy Benchmarking program is a key piece of Seattle’s climate strategy. In addition to the climate benefits, the program also assists building owners and managers by showing how their buildings are using—and in many cases wasting—energy. Benchmarking helps building owners stay competitive in a market where tenants and prospective buyers are driving demand for increased for energy efficiency in buildings.

Highlights from the Seattle Energy Benchmarking Analysis Report include:

 

  • Buildings reporting three or more consecutive years of data have reduced overall energy consumption and greenhouse emissions. From 2014 to 2016, total energy use for these buildings declined 3.7% and total emissions declined 4.8%.
  • The median ENERGY STAR score for all buildings has increased by seven points—or 10%—since 2013 while the program has maintained over 99% compliance every year. Additionally, between 2013 and 2016, Seattle’s Energy Benchmarking program added 136 buildings and nearly 43 million square feet of space as Seattle’s construction boom has continued.
  • Although energy improvements since 2014 have led to reduced emissions, many buildings still have room for significant improvements. Hotels, hospitals, high-rise multifamily buildings, labs, and restaurants have the highest emissions per square foot and offer the largest savings opportunities.

 

Seattle’s benchmarked buildings include more than 3,300 properties, representing 323 million square feet of Seattle’s largest commercial and multifamily buildings. In almost every building category, including offices, residential buildings, retail stores, and educational institutions, median energy use per square foot is lower than previous years even when accounting for variations in weather. This is the result of owners adopting more efficient technology, improving building operations and implementing utility incentivized energy efficiency measures.

Data on Seattle’s benchmarked buildings is now easier for the general public and potential tenants to access. Earlier this year, Seattle moved to online building performance profiles to allow for easier public sharing and customized reports for all buildings including information on ENERGY STAR scores, fuel usage, greenhouse gas emissions, and EUI (energy use intensity). The online profiles also give an estimate of annual energy costs and savings opportunities.

 

More information on Seattle’s Energy Benchmarking program is here.

Energy Benchmarking Data Portal

 

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Seattle announces multiple wins in building energy efficiency

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New website to track building energy use, energy efficiency improvements in City buildings, and new ENERGY STAR ranking

Today the City of Seattle announced three notable achievements that underscore the City’s progress and commitment to reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in Seattle’s largest buildings. Buildings account for 33% of Seattle’s greenhouse gas emissions and Seattle’s ongoing efforts in this area are critical to meeting our climate goal of becoming a carbon neutral city by 2050.

“During this time when our federal government is actively working to block meaningful climate action, staying focused on aggressively pursuing climate solutions is critical,” said Jessica Finn Coven, Director of the Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment. “While we are fortunate to have a carbon neutral electric utility, the key to achieving our building energy climate goals will always be rooted in efficiency. Seattle has been a leader in building energy for years and we will continue to lay down a path for other cities to follow.”

The Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE) released details on the energy use in 2016 of over 3,330 commercial and multifamily buildings, including 85 City-owned buildings in a new data visualization website. Collected as part of Seattle’s Energy Benchmarking Program, the information—including annual energy used per square foot, ENERGY STAR scores, and greenhouse gas emissions—is easily understandable and allows people to see how much energy a specific building uses (its “building performance”) as well as compare it to similar buildings. More detailed building performance data for both 2015 and 2016 is available for download through the City of Seattle’s Open Data portal.

Transparent, accessible data about individual buildings are key tools in driving greater awareness about how much energy buildings use which helps create long-term market demand for energy efficient buildings and protects tenant interests.

“Having this data available and accessible is a prime example of where the market is headed,” said Cliff Majersik, Executive Director for the Institute for Market Transformation. “We know building performance, specifically energy efficiency, is becoming more important to prospective tenants and buyers. Seattle’s tool is especially compelling because it reports on greenhouse gas emissions, identifies potential savings opportunities, and allows users to drill down on a specific building, not just a building type.”

As part of the City’s Resource Conservation Program for municipal buildings, the City of Seattle is tracking and reporting energy use on all its buildings 10,000 sq.ft. or larger, as well as all public service facilities—community centers, libraries, fire stations, and police stations—regardless of size. A recent Seattle report shows energy use in City buildings decreased by 3.7% between 2015 and 2016 which brings the total energy reduction for City-owned buildings to 12% since 2008. This places the City on track to achieve its 20% energy reduction by 2020 goal. Seattle recently established a new target of an overall 40 percent energy and carbon emissions reduction by 2025.

“Given that most of the buildings that will shape Seattle in 2050 have already been built, improving the performance of our existing buildings is fundamentally important,” said Fred Podesta, Director of the Seattle Department of Finance and Administrative Services. “By improving as much of our municipal stock as possible, the City is realizing both significant environmental and economic benefits and setting a great example in the community.”

Seattle’s efforts in driving building energy efficiency show results in national rankings. Seattle climbed two spots over 2016 in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) list of U.S. metropolitan areas with the most ENERGY STAR certified buildings. In 2017, 164 Seattle area buildings, representing over 40 million sq. ft. earned the ENERGY STAR. This was a 22% increase over 2016, leading to a 38% increase in cost savings.

To qualify for the ENERGY STAR, a building must earn a 1 – 100 ENERGY STAR score of 75 or higher, indicating that it is more energy efficient than 75 percent of similar buildings nationwide. ­Is your building a Certified ENERGY STAR building? Visit  www.seattle.gov/energybenchmarkingmap and look for the ENERGY STAR logo on the building’s report view.

Data Visualizations Website Images for use:
Dashboard Snapshot
Building Pop-Up Snapshot
Energy Use Intensity (EUI) graph

 

 

 

 

Building Performance Data Now Online

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This week, Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE) released 2015 building energy performance data for over 3,300 properties reporting data through Seattle’s Energy Benchmarking program. Overall, the data is showing an increase in building energy efficiency and drop in energy consumption. As Seattle aims to lead the nation in fighting climate change, the city is making data publicly available to create a long-term market demand for energy efficient buildings, protect tenant interests, and reward high performers.

Detailed building performance data is now available through the City of Seattle’s Open Data portal where users can download, sort, or filter the data. The portal displays a wide range of both building information—such as address, floor area, age, and building use characteristics—as well as energy performance metrics like energy use intensity (EUI), ENERGY STAR score, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Seattle’s Energy Benchmarking Map

The City of Seattle also developed a data visualization mapping tool to allow the public to quickly explore individual building performance and compare buildings across the city. Users can filter buildings by location, age, building type, and key energy performance metrics to learn more about the buildings in Seattle’s Energy Benchmarking program.

The release of benchmarking data builds on the Office of Sustainability and Environment’s commitment to increasing the accessibility of building performance information to motivate city-wide energy efficiency improvements. For these efforts, last week OSE received the 2017 ENERGY STAR® Award for Excellence in Data Innovation.

Learn more about the importance of data transparency here.

Read more about the ENERGY STAR award here.

Explore the 2015 benchmarking data here.

Request for Proposals – Energy Benchmarking Data Analysis

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Dexter Horton Building

Dexter Horton Building

The City of Seattle Office of Sustainability & Environment (OSE) is requesting proposals from qualified consultants to conduct analysis on building energy performance data as collected per the energy benchmarking and reporting requirement for commercial and multifamily buildings 20,000 square feet and greater. The cost for consulting services is estimated to be up to $70,000, but the actual contract amount will be negotiated after a firm has been selected and the scope of work finalized. The project is planned to be completed by February 28, 2015.

To select the consultant, the proposals will be evaluated, and a short-list of the most qualified firms selected by a Consultant Evaluation Committee. The short-listed consultants may be invited to interview.

A copy of the Request for Proposals (RFP) can be found on the City’s Consulting website. RFP responses must be received by 1:00 p.m. (PDT), October 6, 2014. RFP contains full explanation of what a complete response entails. The City reserves the right to reject all proposals.

Procurement Schedule

Schedule of Events Date/Time
Solicitation Release 9/22/2014
Deadline for Questions 9/25/2014 (responses by 10/1)
RFP Response Deadline 10/6/2014, 1:00 PM
RFP Interviews (If warranted) Start October 9, 2014
Anticipated Announcement of Successful Proposer(s) October 15, 2014
Anticipated Negotiation Schedule Starts October 20, 2014
Contract Execution October 31, 2014

Questions regarding the RFP or the selection process should be directed in writing to:

Rebecca Baker, Energy Benchmarking Program Manager
City of Seattle, Office of Sustainability & Environment
700 5th Avenue, Suite 1868
PO Box 94729
Seattle, WA 98124-4729
Telephone: 206-615-1171
FAX: 206-684-3013
rebecca.baker@Seattle.gov

 

Seattle in Top 15 Cities for ENERGY STAR Buildings

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its 2014 rankings today for the top cities with ENERGY STAR-rated buildings. Seattle moved up the list from #17 in 2013 to #14 with a total of 127 buildings saving an estimated $23.6 million in energy costs (check out the map of the buildings with ENERGY STAR Rating in (and around) Seattle). The ranking confirms Seattle’s commitment to providing building owners and managers with the technical guidance, best practices, and training they need to make their buildings more energy efficient, save money, and reduce carbon emissions.

Seattle-energy-star-buildings

Map of the buildings with Energy Star Rating in (and around) Seattle.

With Seattle’s commercial and multi-family buildings conducting annual energy benchmarking and identifying energy-saving strategies, we expect more buildings to pursue ENERGY STAR certification.

More than 23,000 buildings across America earned EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification by the end of last year. These buildings saved more than $3.1 billion on utility bills and prevented greenhouse gas emissions equal to the annual electricity use from 2.2 million homes.

Big Energy Savings at Horizon House

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Horizon House buildingHorizon House retirement community has made great strides in its efforts to lower its impact on the environment. The Conservation Committee works to find ways to save energy and other resources. Several years ago, one of the residents active on the committee asked her grandson Corey Weathers, a Principal at Catalyst 2030, to help them find the best ways to save resources at their facility. Beginning with an understanding of how their building performed via annual energy benchmarking (required for owners of non-residential and multifamily buildings 20,000 sf or larger in Seattle), they then analyzed the results to find out where the biggest savings could be gained.

In 2012, energy, water and waste conservation efforts at Horizon House saved the community more than $50,000 on utility bills, exceeding projected savings by more than $18,000. Operational changes and facility upgrades were major contributors, but residents also helped by making simple changes in behaviors to conserve resources.

You can read Corey’s great blog post about Horizon House’s process, as well as our case study with more details on this successful project.