Sentinel Square II

How does Sentinel Square II compare with other office buildings in Washington, DC?

The latest disclosures cover 899 office buildings in Washington, DC, out of 6,870 buildings citywide. Sentinel Square II's ENERGY STAR score of 89 compares with an average of 70 across the 774 that report a score; it scores higher than 87% of them and lower than 11%. Its site EUI of 35.8 kBtu/ft² is about 36% below the average of 55.6 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 3.1 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 37% below the group average of 5.0 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 280,363 sq ft, it is about 30% above the average floor area of 216,135 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2014, 40 years later 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 Sentinel Square II's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 9 Washington, DC disclosures for Sentinel Square II, covering report years 2016–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 98 in 2016 to 89 in 2024 (-9 points); its best year on file was 2017, at 99. Site EUI moved from 23.2 kBtu/ft² (2016) to 35.8 kBtu/ft² (2024), an 54% increase. Reported emissions went from 740 tCO₂e to 880 tCO₂e over the same span (up 19%).

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 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. Sentinel Square II's 35.8 kBtu/ft² across 280,363 sq ft works out to about 10 billion Btu (2,942 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 100.2 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 2,940,221 kWh of electricity, 0 therms of natural gas and 3 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires Sentinel Square II to report its energy use?

Sentinel Square II 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:PM3993733:2024). 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.