23 Harvard Yard

How does 23 Harvard Yard compare with other worship facility buildings in Cambridge?

The latest disclosures cover 17 worship facility buildings in Cambridge, out of 902 buildings citywide. 23 Harvard Yard's ENERGY STAR score of 6 compares with an average of 25 across the 11 that report a score; it scores higher than 27% of them and lower than 64%. Its site EUI of 104.8 kBtu/ft² is about 12% above the average of 93.7 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.

At 33,203 sq ft, it is roughly in line with the average floor area of 30,966 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1932, 17 years later than the group's average year built (1915). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 1,035 worship facility buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 50 and a site EUI of 47.8 kBtu/ft².

How has 23 Harvard Yard's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 10 Cambridge disclosures for 23 Harvard Yard, covering report years 2015–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 16 in 2015 to 6 in 2024 (-10 points); its best year on file was 2016, at 39. Site EUI moved from 82.1 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 104.8 kBtu/ft² (2024), an 28% increase. Reported emissions went from 239 tCO₂e to 231 tCO₂e over the same span (down 3%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 6 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 6 means the building performs better than about 6% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 6 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 69 points below 75, the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification. In Cambridge, 50% 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. 23 Harvard Yard's 104.8 kBtu/ft² across 33,203 sq ft works out to about 3.5 billion Btu (1,020 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 165.6 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 273,426 kWh of electricity and 79 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires 23 Harvard Yard to report its energy use?

23 Harvard Yard reports under BEUDO, the legal basis of Cambridge's Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO), which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2024 disclosure (source record cambridge:B1354:2024). Cambridge's 2023 BEUDO amendments require non-residential buildings of 100,000+ sq ft to reach net-zero emissions by 2035 (reductions starting 2026) and those of 25,000–100,000 sq ft by 2050 (starting 2030).