Seattle Proved Its Code Works - We Proved How Much
OUR INSIGHT
The Seattle Energy Code consistently outpaces the state code by one cycle, and the state consistently catches up. We built the analytical framework that proved it and sized the savings that came with it.
The Challenge
Seattle City Light needed to quantify not just the energy savings produced by the Seattle Energy Code, but the specific value of its own investment in code development, training, and enforcement, a distinction that standard code compliance analysis doesn't attempt to make. The project required isolating City Light's programmatic contribution to outcomes across two biennia (2020–2021 and 2022–2023), separating the utility's influence from the baseline savings the code would have generated anyway.
Our Role
We were brought in by Ecotope as a technical partner on this project, contributing the energy modeling methodology and execution that sat at the core of the analysis. Our team developed and calibrated the EnergyPlus prototype models across six building types and three code cycles, and applied the Delphi Analysis framework to convert expert input on compliance and enforcement into quantifiable savings estimates, the specific technical work that made attribution possible. Ecotope's deep roots in Pacific Northwest code policy and their relationships with Seattle City Light and SDCI gave the engagement its credibility and context; our modeling gave it its numbers.
The Result
A completed stringency analysis covering the 2015, 2018, and 2021 code cycles, with a Delphi Analysis quantifying expert consensus on how City Light's training, outreach, and enforcement activities improve compliance. The analysis attributed 8,486 MWh in electricity savings over two biennia directly to City Light's code support work, giving the utility a defensible, quantified basis for evaluating the impact of its code investments and informing future program and resource planning decisions.
Services
Codes & Standards | EnergyPlus | Efficiency Impact Assessment | Utility Program Evaluation
CLIENT: Seattle City Light
Program: Codes & Standards
LOCATION: Seattle, WA
YEAR: 2024