1601 Research Blvd

How does 1601 Research Blvd compare with other office buildings in Montgomery County?

The latest disclosures cover 414 office buildings in Montgomery County, out of 1,766 buildings citywide. 1601 Research Blvd's ENERGY STAR score of 37 compares with an average of 63 across the 325 that report a score; it scores higher than 16% of them and lower than 83%. Its site EUI of 70.0 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 66.5 kBtu/ft².

At 180,120 sq ft, it is about 36% above the average floor area of 132,356 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1970, 17 years earlier than the group's average year built (1987). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 15,264 office buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 73 and a site EUI of 59.3 kBtu/ft².

How has 1601 Research Blvd's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 2 Montgomery County disclosures for 1601 Research Blvd, covering report years 2023–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 34 in 2023 to 37 in 2024 (+3 points). Site EUI moved from 77.0 kBtu/ft² (2023) to 70.0 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 9% decrease. Reported emissions went from 1,084 tCO₂e to 1,018 tCO₂e over the same span (down 6%).

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 Montgomery County, 53% 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. 1601 Research Blvd's 70.0 kBtu/ft² across 180,120 sq ft works out to about 12.6 billion Btu (3,695 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 171.1 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 2,943,996 kWh of electricity and 25,612 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires 1601 Research Blvd to report its energy use?

1601 Research Blvd reports under the Benchmarking Law (Bill 2-14) / BEPS (Bill 16-21), the legal basis of Montgomery County's Commercial Building Energy Benchmarking program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2024 disclosure (source record montgomery_county:27977059:2024). Montgomery County's BEPS (Bill 16-21; regulations approved in 2025) sets declining site-EUI standards for buildings of 25,000+ sq ft, with interim and then final standards later this decade and into the 2030s depending on building type.