The Marlyn

How does The Marlyn compare with other multifamily housing buildings in Washington, DC?

The latest disclosures cover 1,799 multifamily housing buildings in Washington, DC, out of 6,870 buildings citywide. The Marlyn's ENERGY STAR score of 55 compares with an average of 72 across the 1,618 that report a score; it scores higher than 22% of them and lower than 76%. Its site EUI of 74.3 kBtu/ft² is about 45% above the average of 51.1 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 4.9 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 29% above the group average of 3.8 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 83,582 sq ft, it is about 39% below the average floor area of 136,346 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1938, 27 years earlier than the group's average year built (1965). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 59,945 multifamily housing buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 70 and a site EUI of 59.0 kBtu/ft².

How has The Marlyn's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 5 Washington, DC disclosures for The Marlyn, covering report years 2020–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 87 in 2020 to 55 in 2024 (-32 points); its best year on file was 2020, at 87. Site EUI moved from 64.3 kBtu/ft² (2020) to 74.3 kBtu/ft² (2024), an 16% increase. Reported emissions went from 341 tCO₂e to 410 tCO₂e over the same span (up 20%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 55 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 55 means the building performs better than about 55% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 55 falls in band C — below median (55–69). It sits 20 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. The Marlyn's 74.3 kBtu/ft² across 83,582 sq ft works out to about 6.2 billion Btu (1,820 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 126.6 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 679,496 kWh of electricity, 38,943 therms of natural gas and 3,848 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires The Marlyn to report its energy use?

The Marlyn 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:PM14845482:2024). 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.