National Center for Higher Education

How does National Center for Higher Education compare with other office buildings in Washington, DC?

The latest disclosures cover 899 office buildings in Washington, DC, out of 6,870 buildings citywide. National Center for Higher Education's ENERGY STAR score of 67 compares with an average of 70 across the 774 that report a score; it scores higher than 31% of them and lower than 68%. Its site EUI of 68.1 kBtu/ft² is about 22% 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 5.2 kgCO₂e/ft² is roughly in line with the group average of 5.0 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 215,511 sq ft, it is roughly in line with the average floor area of 216,135 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1969, 5 years earlier than 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 National Center for Higher Education's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 13 Washington, DC disclosures for National Center for Higher Education, covering report years 2012–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 68 in 2015 to 67 in 2024 (-1 points); its best year on file was 2017, at 85. Site EUI moved from 131.3 kBtu/ft² (2013) to 68.1 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 48% decrease. Reported emissions went from 6,179 tCO₂e to 1,110 tCO₂e over the same span (down 82%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 67 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 67 means the building performs better than about 67% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 67 falls in band C — below median (55–69). It sits 8 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. National Center for Higher Education's 68.1 kBtu/ft² across 215,511 sq ft works out to about 14.7 billion Btu (4,301 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 148.9 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 2,792,290 kWh of electricity, 51,549 therms of natural gas and 2,636 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires National Center for Higher Education to report its energy use?

National Center for Higher Education 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:PM2930341:2024). 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.