Payne Elementary
K-12 School in Washington, DC, DC · 305 15TH STREET SE · 20003
At a glance
Payne Elementary is a 83,800-square-foot K-12 school at 305 15TH STREET SE in Washington, DC. In its 2018 Washington, DC benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 83 out of 100 (grade B), a site energy-use intensity of 27.3 kBtu/ft² and 232 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 90% of the 304 scored K-12 school buildings in Washington, DC.
Clean and Affordable Energy Act / BEPS · reporting year 2018
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 83 (band B) |
| Site EUI | 27.3 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 76.6 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 232 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 2.8 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 671,539 kWh |
| Natural gas | 0 therms |
| Gross floor area | 83,800 sq ft |
| Source record | dc:PM3412365:2018 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018latest | 83 | +15 | 27.3 kBtu/ft² | 232 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 68 | +6 | 36.8 kBtu/ft² | 342 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 62 | +3 | 40.2 kBtu/ft² | 370 tCO₂e |
| 2015 | 59 | -32 | 48.2 kBtu/ft² | 357 tCO₂e |
| 2014 | 91 | -4 | 25.6 kBtu/ft² | 177 tCO₂e |
| 2013 | 95 | 21.6 kBtu/ft² | 149 tCO₂e | |
| 2012 | — | — | — |
Compliance context
Clean and Affordable Energy Act / BEPS
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.
Ownership
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL SERVICES
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Location
- Address
- 305 15TH STREET SE
- City
- Washington, DC
- State
- District of Columbia
- ZIP
- 20003
- Coordinates
- 38.88514, -76.98420
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- Beckert's Park (bc037)score 92
Multifamily Housing · 421,855 sq ft
- Potomac Senior / Familyscore 10
Multifamily Housing · 349,266 sq ft
- Eastern High Schoolscore 59
K-12 School · 327,589 sq ft
- Jenkins Rowscore 96
Multifamily Housing · 324,759 sq ft
- Park Kennedy (pr681)score 87
Multifamily Housing · 318,176 sq ft
- Eastern High Schoolscore 51
K-12 School · 288,800 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Washington, DC · biggest emitters
How does Payne Elementary compare with other K-12 school buildings in Washington, DC?
The latest disclosures cover 333 K-12 school buildings in Washington, DC, out of 6,870 buildings citywide. Payne Elementary's ENERGY STAR score of 83 compares with an average of 44 across the 304 that report a score; it scores higher than 90% of them and lower than 10%. Its site EUI of 27.3 kBtu/ft² is about 57% below the average of 64.1 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 2.8 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 42% below the group average of 4.8 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 83,800 sq ft, it is about 21% below the average floor area of 105,946 sq ft for those buildings. Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 6,548 K-12 school buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 64 and a site EUI of 52.7 kBtu/ft².
How has Payne Elementary's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 7 Washington, DC disclosures for Payne Elementary, covering report years 2012–2018. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 95 in 2013 to 83 in 2018 (-12 points); its best year on file was 2013, at 95. Site EUI moved from 21.6 kBtu/ft² (2013) to 27.3 kBtu/ft² (2018), an 26% increase. Reported emissions went from 149 tCO₂e to 232 tCO₂e over the same span (up 55%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 83 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 83 means the building performs better than about 83% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 83 falls in band B — above median (70–84). 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 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. Payne Elementary's 27.3 kBtu/ft² across 83,800 sq ft works out to about 2.3 billion Btu (670 MWh-equivalent) in 2018. Its source EUI of 76.6 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 671,539 kWh of electricity and 0 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires Payne Elementary to report its energy use?
Payne Elementary 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 2018 disclosure (source record dc:PM3412365:2018). 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.
More K-12 school buildings in Washington, DC
- Truesdell Education Campus· 83,725 sq ft · score 48 (D)
- Maury Elementary School· 83,466 sq ft · score 22 (D)
- Kimball Elementary (under construction)· 83,400 sq ft · score 100 (A)
- Blessed Sacrament School· 83,290 sq ft · score 90 (A)
- LaSalle-Backus Education Campus· 83,000 sq ft · score 8 (D)
- Beers Elementary School· 82,748 sq ft · score 30 (D)
- K-12 School buildings in Washington, DC· 333 benchmarked
- All Washington, DC benchmarked buildings· Clean and Affordable Energy Act / BEPS
- Most efficient large buildings in Washington, DC
- Least efficient large buildings in Washington, DC
- Biggest emitters in Washington, DC
Frequently asked questions
What is Payne Elementary's energy grade?
Payne Elementary scores 83 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band B, above median (70–84) — in its 2018 Washington, DC disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does Payne Elementary use?
Its 2018 site energy-use intensity was 27.3 kBtu/ft² (76.6 kBtu/ft² source) across 83,800 sq ft, including 671,539 kWh of electricity and 0 therms of natural gas.
What are Payne Elementary's carbon emissions?
Payne Elementary reported 232 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (2.8 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2018.
Where is Payne Elementary?
Payne Elementary is at 305 15TH STREET SE, in Washington, DC 20003. Its coordinates are 38.88514, -76.98420 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Building Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is Payne Elementary and when was it built?
Payne Elementary has 83,800 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2018 disclosure. It is classed as K-12 school.
Is Payne Elementary covered by the Clean and Affordable Energy Act / BEPS?
Yes — it appears in the 2018 Building Energy Benchmarking disclosure, which lists the buildings reporting under the Clean and Affordable Energy Act / BEPS.
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About this data
Source: Building Energy Benchmarking (Clean and Affordable Energy Act / BEPS), as published July 9, 2026. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: BuildingCensus, “Payne Elementary, Washington, DC — 2018 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/washington-dc/payne-elementary-17d7f2e1 (data as of July 9, 2026).