1246 Commonwealth Av

How does 1246 Commonwealth Av compare with other multifamily housing buildings in Boston?

The latest disclosures cover 2,174 multifamily housing buildings in Boston, out of 6,305 buildings citywide. 1246 Commonwealth Av's ENERGY STAR score of 94 compares with an average of 71 across the 1,225 that report a score; it scores higher than 75% of them and lower than 22%. Its site EUI of 33.5 kBtu/ft² is about half of the average of 67.7 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.

At 14,616 sq ft, it is about 75% below the average floor area of 58,087 sq ft for those buildings. Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 59,945 multifamily housing buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 70 and a site EUI of 59.0 kBtu/ft².

How has 1246 Commonwealth Av's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 3 Boston disclosures for 1246 Commonwealth Av, covering report years 2022–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 100 in 2023 to 94 in 2024 (-6 points); its best year on file was 2023, at 100. Site EUI moved from 22.2 kBtu/ft² (2023) to 33.5 kBtu/ft² (2024), an 51% increase. Reported emissions went from 19 tCO₂e to 28 tCO₂e over the same span (up 47%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 94 mean?

ENERGY STAR scores run from 1 to 100 and are computed by the EPA's Portfolio Manager as a percentile against similar buildings nationwide, adjusted for climate, size and use: a score of 94 means the building performs better than about 94% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 94 falls in band A — high performer (85–100). Scores of 75 or higher meet the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification; certification itself is a separate, verified application that the disclosure does not record. In Boston, 52% of scored buildings are at 75 or above.

Site energy-use intensity (EUI) is the energy a building uses on site in a year divided by its floor area, in thousand Btu per square foot — lower is more efficient. 1246 Commonwealth Av's 33.5 kBtu/ft² across 14,616 sq ft works out to about 0.5 billion Btu (143 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. The disclosure also reports 120,913 kWh of electricity and 765 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires 1246 Commonwealth Av to report its energy use?

1246 Commonwealth Av reports under BERDO 2.0, the legal basis of Boston's Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2024 disclosure (source record boston:107047:2024). BERDO 2.0 sets emissions standards for buildings of 20,000+ sq ft or 15+ units, starting in 2025 or 2030 depending on building size, with an alternative-compliance payment of $234 per metric ton of CO₂e over the limit.