CH2

How does CH2 compare with other data center buildings in Chicago?

The latest disclosures cover 7 data center buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. CH2's ENERGY STAR score of 98 compares with an average of 59 across the 6 that report a score; it scores higher than 83% of them. Its site EUI of 139.0 kBtu/ft² is about 79% below the average of 651.1 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 17.4 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 76% below the group average of 73.8 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 180,000 sq ft, it is about half of the average floor area of 372,428 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2020, 78 years later than the group's average year built (1942). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 267 data center buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 68 and a site EUI of 504.4 kBtu/ft².

How has CH2's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 2 Chicago disclosures for CH2, covering report years 2022–2023. Site EUI moved from 86.5 kBtu/ft² (2022) to 139.0 kBtu/ft² (2023), an 61% increase. Reported emissions went from 2,050 tCO₂e to 3,132 tCO₂e over the same span (up 53%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 98 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 98 means the building performs better than about 98% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 98 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 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. CH2's 139.0 kBtu/ft² across 180,000 sq ft works out to about 25 billion Btu (7,333 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 347.9 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 6,086,130 kWh of electricity, 42,546 therms of natural gas and 1,977 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires CH2 to report its energy use?

CH2 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:256876:2023). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.