1309 N Wells

How does 1309 N Wells compare with other multifamily housing buildings in Chicago?

The latest disclosures cover 1,515 multifamily housing buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. 1309 N Wells's ENERGY STAR score of 58 compares with an average of 62 across the 1,472 that report a score; it scores higher than 40% of them and lower than 59%. Its site EUI of 72.7 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 72.0 kBtu/ft². Its emissions intensity of 5.8 kgCO₂e/ft² is roughly in line with the group average of 5.8 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 115,503 sq ft, it is about 44% below the average floor area of 206,097 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1990, 19 years later than the group's average year built (1971). 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 1309 N Wells's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 8 Chicago disclosures for 1309 N Wells, covering report years 2016–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 48 in 2016 to 58 in 2023 (+10 points). Site EUI moved from 80.9 kBtu/ft² (2016) to 72.7 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 10% decrease. Reported emissions went from 862 tCO₂e to 671 tCO₂e over the same span (down 22%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 58 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 58 means the building performs better than about 58% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 58 falls in band C — below median (55–69). It sits 17 points below 75, the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification. In Chicago, 35% 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. 1309 N Wells's 72.7 kBtu/ft² across 115,503 sq ft works out to about 8.4 billion Btu (2,461 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 115.6 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 759,674 kWh of electricity and 58,052 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires 1309 N Wells to report its energy use?

1309 N Wells reports under the Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance, the legal basis of the Chicago Energy Benchmarking program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2023 disclosure (source record chicago:251918:2023). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.