20410 Observation Drive

How does 20410 Observation Drive compare with other office buildings in Montgomery County?

The latest disclosures cover 414 office buildings in Montgomery County, out of 1,766 buildings citywide. 20410 Observation Drive's ENERGY STAR score of 89 compares with an average of 63 across the 325 that report a score; it scores higher than 85% of them and lower than 13%. Its site EUI of 54.9 kBtu/ft² is about 17% below the average of 66.5 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.

At 70,381 sq ft, it is about half of the average floor area of 132,356 sq ft for those buildings. Its 1989 construction date is close to 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 20410 Observation Drive's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 2 Montgomery County disclosures for 20410 Observation Drive, covering report years 2023–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 93 in 2023 to 89 in 2024 (-4 points); its best year on file was 2023, at 93. Site EUI moved from 49.4 kBtu/ft² (2023) to 54.9 kBtu/ft² (2024), an 11% increase. Reported emissions went from 487 tCO₂e to 517 tCO₂e over the same span (up 6%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 89 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 89 means the building performs better than about 89% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 89 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 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. 20410 Observation Drive's 54.9 kBtu/ft² across 70,381 sq ft works out to about 3.9 billion Btu (1,132 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 153.7 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 1,132,220 kWh of electricity and 0 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires 20410 Observation Drive to report its energy use?

20410 Observation Drive 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:3630820:2024). 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.