Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 83.87
Liaison Yolanda Cieters
Submission Date March 1, 2024

STARS v2.2

Seattle University
OP-5: Building Energy Efficiency

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.86 / 6.00 Yolanda Cieters
Associate Director
CEJS
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Site energy use per unit of floor area

Performance year energy consumption

Electricity use, performance year (report kilowatt-hours):
kWh MMBtu
Imported electricity 17,558,107 Kilowatt-hours 59,908.26 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) 14,096 Kilowatt-hours 48.10 MMBtu

Stationary fuels and thermal energy, performance year (report MMBtu):
MMBtu
Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy 56,623.67 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, performance year:
116,580.03 MMBtu

Performance year building space

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
2,210,938 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 64,226.06 Square feet
Healthcare space 0 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 62,901.63 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
2,402,291.75 Gross square feet

Performance year heating and cooling degree days 

Degree days, performance year:
Degree days
Heating degree days 4,864.10 Degree-Days (°F)
Cooling degree days 545.50 Degree-Days (°F)

Total degree days, performance year:
5,409.60 Degree-Days (°F)

Performance period

Start and end dates of the performance year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Performance period July 1, 2022 June 30, 2023

Metric used in scoring for Part 1

Total site energy consumption per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area per degree day, performance year:
8.97 Btu / GSF / Degree-Day (°F)

Part 2. Reduction in source energy use per unit of floor area

Baseline year energy consumption

STARS 2.2 requires electricity data in kilowatt-hours (kWh). If a baseline has already been established in a previous version of STARS and the institution wishes to continue using it, the electricity data must be re-entered in kWh. To convert existing electricity figures from MMBtu to kWh, simply multiply by 293.07107 MMBtu/kWh.

Electricity use, baseline year (report kWh):
kWh MMBtu
Imported electricity 19,046,205 Kilowatt-hours 64,985.65 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) 0 Kilowatt-hours 0 MMBtu

Stationary fuels and thermal energy, baseline year (report MMBtu):
MMBtu
Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy 64,660 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 14,353 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, baseline year:
143,998.65 MMBtu

Baseline year building space

Gross floor area of building space, baseline year:
2,142,930 Gross square feet

Baseline period

Start and end dates of the baseline year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Baseline period July 1, 2008 June 30, 2009

A brief description of when and why the energy consumption baseline was adopted:
We use 2009 as the baseline for Seattle University's Greenhouse Gas Emissions inventory, including energy data, because that year Seattle University adopted its original Climate Action Plan and set carbon emission reduction targets. (Following Seattle University's signing of the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment-ACUPCC).

Source energy

Source-site ratio for imported electricity:
3

Total energy consumption per unit of floor area:
Site energy Source energy
Performance year 0.05 MMBtu per square foot 0.11 MMBtu per square foot
Baseline year 0.07 MMBtu per square foot 0.13 MMBtu per square foot

Metric used in scoring for Part 2

Percentage reduction in total source energy consumption per unit of floor area from baseline:
16.37

Optional Fields 

Documentation to support the performance year energy consumption figures reported above:
---

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to shift individual attitudes and practices in regard to energy efficiency:
- Campus announcements are used to communicate about energy conservation on campus.
- Work order system used by students and employees to report energy conservation opportunities and issues.

A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution:
Building mechanical systems are connected to an Energy Management Software which turns temperature on and off based on each building's occupancy hours. It also controls some campus lighting.

A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:
Existing light fixtures are being converted to LED lamps as the technology improves and meets a room's needs.

A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:
NA

A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution:
NA

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment, and systems with high efficiency alternatives:
- The Operations team has identified the highest need buildings for recommissioning and will implement recommissioning efforts with the help of an outside consultant.

- As part of our participation in a utility energy conservation program, we have created a resource conservation plan and facilities improvement matrix to codify conservation practices and identify future conservation projects:
https://www.seattleu.edu/media/facilities-services/UPDATED_Seattle-University-Resource-Management-Plan-2.pdf

Website URL where information about the institution’s energy conservation and efficiency program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
--Attached file is: energy use for performance year FY23

--Note that the gross floor area of building space (performance year) in OP5 is different from PRE-4.
The PRE-4 credit GSF is SU's institutional boundary GSF whereas in OP5 we report on SU's operational boundary (for both the performance and baseline year), that is, we exclude leased buildings from our count because we do not receive any utilities-related data for those buildings nor do we control changes or improvements related to the building’s utilities.
o SU’s Institutional boundary total is 2,310,148. (= 2,296,459 owned + 13,689 for one leased building (YOBI building)
o SU’s Operational boundary total is 2,210,938. (buildings where SU has ownership/control of maintenance/building operations).

--On-site renewable electricity generating facilities/devices at Seattle University: The Photovoltaic sites are ADAL, SINE, STCN:
o ADAL Annual Average, actual: 4,696.097560975609 kWh
Lifetime PV, ADAL actual (Since Feb 2010): 64,180 kWh
o SINE PV, Annual estimated, observed year (April 2021 to March 2022): 7,700 kWh
o STCN PV, Annual estimated, design spec: 1,700 kWh
=> Total annual (estimated/actual): 14,096

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.