600 Pennsylvania

How does 600 Pennsylvania compare with other office buildings in Washington, DC?

The latest disclosures cover 899 office buildings in Washington, DC, out of 6,870 buildings citywide. 600 Pennsylvania's ENERGY STAR score of 45 compares with an average of 70 across the 774 that report a score; it scores higher than 12% of them and lower than 87%. Its site EUI of 71.9 kBtu/ft² is about 29% above the average of 55.6 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 5.7 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 15% above the group average of 5.0 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 87,630 sq ft, it is about 59% below the average floor area of 216,135 sq ft for those buildings. Its 1975 construction date is close to the group's average year built (1974). 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 600 Pennsylvania's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 13 Washington, DC disclosures for 600 Pennsylvania, covering report years 2012–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 42 in 2013 to 45 in 2024 (+3 points); its best year on file was 2020, at 76. Site EUI moved from 85.1 kBtu/ft² (2013) to 71.9 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 16% decrease. Reported emissions went from 944 tCO₂e to 502 tCO₂e over the same span (down 47%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 45 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 45 means the building performs better than about 45% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 45 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 30 points below 75, the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification. In Washington, DC, 47% 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. 600 Pennsylvania's 71.9 kBtu/ft² across 87,630 sq ft works out to about 6.3 billion Btu (1,847 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 201.4 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 1,847,105 kWh of electricity, 0 therms of natural gas and 2,858 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires 600 Pennsylvania to report its energy use?

600 Pennsylvania reports under the Clean and Affordable Energy Act / BEPS, the legal basis of Washington, DC's 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 dc:PM3505691:2024). DC's Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) require buildings below the performance standard to improve over compliance cycles (the first ends December 31, 2026; later cycles run five years), with penalties for buildings that fail to meet their pathway.