15 Essex St

How does 15 Essex St 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. 15 Essex St's ENERGY STAR score of 53 compares with an average of 71 across the 1,225 that report a score; it scores higher than 23% of them and lower than 76%. Its site EUI of 67.0 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 67.7 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.

At 62,016 sq ft, it is roughly in line with 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 15 Essex St's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 3 Boston disclosures for 15 Essex St, covering report years 2022–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 98 in 2022 to 53 in 2024 (-45 points); its best year on file was 2022, at 98. Site EUI moved from 24.6 kBtu/ft² (2022) to 67.0 kBtu/ft² (2024), an 172% increase. Reported emissions went from 121 tCO₂e to 227 tCO₂e over the same span (up 88%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 53 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 53 means the building performs better than about 53% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 53 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 22 points below 75, the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification. 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. 15 Essex St's 67.0 kBtu/ft² across 62,016 sq ft works out to about 4.2 billion Btu (1,218 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. The disclosure also reports 488,940 kWh of electricity and 24,840 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires 15 Essex St to report its energy use?

15 Essex St 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:104068:2024). 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.