Washington Plaza Hotel

How does Washington Plaza Hotel compare with other hotel buildings in Washington, DC?

The latest disclosures cover 257 hotel buildings in Washington, DC, out of 6,870 buildings citywide. Washington Plaza Hotel's ENERGY STAR score of 67 compares with an average of 58 across the 251 that report a score; it scores higher than 58% of them and lower than 39%. Its site EUI of 109.9 kBtu/ft² is about 25% above the average of 87.6 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 7.1 kgCO₂e/ft² is roughly in line with the group average of 6.9 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 244,482 sq ft, it is roughly in line with the average floor area of 227,860 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1961, 13 years earlier than the group's average year built (1974). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 3,812 hotel buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 65 and a site EUI of 77.8 kBtu/ft².

How has Washington Plaza Hotel's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 13 Washington, DC disclosures for Washington Plaza Hotel, covering report years 2012–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 38 in 2012 to 67 in 2024 (+29 points); its best year on file was 2020, at 90. Site EUI moved from 123.5 kBtu/ft² (2012) to 109.9 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 11% decrease. Reported emissions went from 2,319 tCO₂e to 1,734 tCO₂e over the same span (down 25%).

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. Washington Plaza Hotel's 109.9 kBtu/ft² across 244,482 sq ft works out to about 26.9 billion Btu (7,874 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 178.8 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 2,595,527 kWh of electricity, 180,196 therms of natural gas and 3,942 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires Washington Plaza Hotel to report its energy use?

Washington Plaza Hotel 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:PM3499934:2024). 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.