CHI1 - Chicago DC1

How does CHI1 - Chicago DC1 compare with other data center buildings in Chicago?

The latest disclosures cover 7 data center buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. CHI1 - Chicago DC1's ENERGY STAR score of 75 compares with an average of 59 across the 6 that report a score; it scores higher than 33% of them and lower than 50%. Its site EUI of 761.1 kBtu/ft² is about 17% above the average of 651.1 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 101.7 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 38% above the group average of 73.8 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 474,979 sq ft, it is about 28% above the average floor area of 372,428 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2001, 59 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.

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 75 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 75 means the building performs better than about 75% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 75 falls in band B — above median (70–84). 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. CHI1 - Chicago DC1's 761.1 kBtu/ft² across 474,979 sq ft works out to about 361.5 billion Btu (105,947 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 2129.2 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 105,799,002 kWh of electricity, 5,152 therms of natural gas and 3,798 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires CHI1 - Chicago DC1 to report its energy use?

CHI1 - Chicago DC1 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:157158:2023). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.