The City of Seattle recognizes that many building owners are already making great strides toward achieving energy efficiency. To allow owners flexibility, buildings with extremely low energy use or exemplary energy performance certifications can request Alternative Compliance. The following Alternative Compliance options are available, and if approved, they grant the building’s owner compliance for one Building Tune-up cycle.
Exemplary Performance Options
- Certified ENERGY STAR Score
- Living Building, Petal, or Net Zero Energy Certifications
- Low EUI (<20 kBtu/sf)
Tune-Up Equivalent Options
- Ongoing Commissioning
- Completed Retro-Commissioning
- ASHRAE Level II Audit Recommendations
- Reduced EUI 15% or More
- Substantial Alteration or New Construction
- SCL Energy Analysis Assistance (EAA) Existing Building Program
If a request is denied, the building will remain subject to SMC 22.930 and required to Tune-Up by its assigned compliance deadline.
1. Log in to your Seattle Services Portal account, then click on Building Tune-Ups in the Create New section.
2. Click the carrot next to Pursue Alternative Compliance to display radio buttons for the many options available. Select the Alternative Compliance pathway you’d like to request, then click the Continue Application button.
3. Although the instructions on the page will vary depending on which Alternative Compliance pathway you selected, in all cases, you must enter the OSE Building ID, which can be found on the Claim Letter that the City of Seattle Building Tune-Ups program mailed to the building owner or owner’s agent. After entering the ID, click the Continue Application button. Note that some pathways require an approved Tune-Up Specialist to be added to the “Claim a Building” record to proceed with the request for Alternative Compliance.
4. Please review the information in the Building Details, Address, and Additional Addresses sections. Please note these fields are all read-only. This information from the City's benchmarking database has been provided to help you confirm the correct building. Additional addresses are displayed because the main address on file with the King County Assessor’s office may differ from the one you typically use when referring to your facility. If the building is not a match, contact us at BuildingTuneUps@seattle.gov or 206-727-TUNE. If this is your building, click the Continue Application button.
5. Please verify that the contacts added to the “Claim a Building” record are correct. The contacts are read-only, so if you need to make changes, you must do so on the “Claim a Building” record. If the contacts are correct, click the Continue Application button.
6. The remaining steps depend on your selected Alternative Compliance pathway. Please follow the instructions to input all the information requested.
7. If applicable, upload any attachments to support your request on the Supporting Documents page. Click the Select button, which will open a new pop-up window.
8. In the File Upload window, click Select then select a file from your computer that you’d like to attach. Next, click the Done button.
9. Depending on the pathway, you may then need to select from drop-down menus or enter a description of your attachment. After completing those steps and clicking Save, proceed to the next step by clicking the Continue Application button.
10. Please review all the information you input on the Review page. Click the Edit button next to the relevant section if anything is incorrect. Once you’ve verified everything is correct, scroll to the bottom of the page and check the box certifying everything is true and correct, then click the Continue Application button to submit your request for Alternative Compliance.