Echelon Chicago

How does Echelon Chicago 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. Echelon Chicago's ENERGY STAR score of 37 compares with an average of 62 across the 1,472 that report a score; it scores higher than 20% of them and lower than 79%. Its site EUI of 78.2 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 72.0 kBtu/ft². Its emissions intensity of 7.1 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 22% above the group average of 5.8 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 333,262 sq ft, it is about 62% above the average floor area of 206,097 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2008, 37 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 Echelon Chicago's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 9 Chicago disclosures for Echelon Chicago, covering report years 2015–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 39 in 2015 to 37 in 2023 (-2 points); its best year on file was 2018, at 71. Site EUI moved from 73.8 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 78.2 kBtu/ft² (2023), an 6% increase. Reported emissions went from 3,391 tCO₂e to 2,379 tCO₂e over the same span (down 30%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 37 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 37 means the building performs better than about 37% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 37 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 38 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. Echelon Chicago's 78.2 kBtu/ft² across 333,262 sq ft works out to about 26.1 billion Btu (7,638 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 142.3 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 3,355,274 kWh of electricity and 146,230 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Echelon Chicago to report its energy use?

Echelon Chicago 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:159528:2023). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.