Good news, Mother Earth: D.C.’s buildings are more energy-efficient than most in the country, and they’re getting more so. According to a release today from the District Department of the Environment, the city’s large, privately owned commercial buildings score an average of 77 on the Energy Star scale, meaning they perform better than 77 percent of the country’s buildings in energy efficiency.
But there’s substantial variation in the city’s buildings. So let’s take a look at the new data to see which privately owned buildings are the best and worst performers.
Two buildings top the list with a perfect score of 100: Embassy Suites at 1250 22nd St. NW and the National Academy of Sciences building at 2101 Constitution Ave. NW. Other high-ranking buildings include a Howard University service building at 1000 Florida Ave. NW (97) and the U.S. Department of Transportation Headquarters on New Jersey Avenue SE (96).
The worst performers listed are the Washington Hospital Center, a research building at Georgetown University’s medical center, and the Courtyard Marriott on 2nd Street NE, all of which score in the first percentile. Other big energy users include the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception at Catholic University (2), the Marriott Wardman Park (20), and the Four Seasons on Pennsylvania Avenue NW (22).
The Washington Hospital Center also has the city’s biggest overall energy footprint, in terms of direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. It’s the second-biggest energy user per square foot, behind George Washington University’s Ross Hall.
With today’s disclosure, D.C. becomes the second city to publicly disclose energy benchmarking data for its privately owned buildings, after New York. The District Department of the Environment reported an 83 percent compliance rate for energy reporting.
The full list can be seen below:
[documentcloud url=”https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1021404-benchmarkdc-disclosure-2012-final-022014.html”]
Image via Google Maps