Your Chicago Energy Rating is a zero to four star score the City gives each building of 50,000 square feet or more, based on the energy use it reports under the Chicago Energy Benchmarking ordinance. Four stars means the strongest energy performance among similar buildings; one star means the weakest, and zero stars usually means the building did not report.
For a multifamily owner, the rating is a public signal of how your building compares, and a useful starting point for deciding which upgrades to pursue.
How the stars are set
- Most buildings receive a 1 to 100 ENERGY STAR score from the energy data they report, and the City converts that score to one to four stars.
- Buildings without an ENERGY STAR score are rated on energy use per square foot, compared with similar buildings nationally.
- A building with one, two or three stars can earn an extra star by improving its score by at least 10 points over the past two reporting years.
- Ratings reflect the previous year’s data. Reports are due by June 1, and placards follow later in the year.
Where the rating shows up
The City mails a placard that must be posted in a prominent place in the building, and updated each year. Listings for sale or lease must show the current rating or ENERGY STAR score, with exceptions for buildings and units covered by the Chicago Heat Disclosure law. The data is also published on the City’s open data portal, so buyers, lenders and residents can look it up.
What a low rating tells you
A one or two star multifamily building uses more energy per square foot than most comparable buildings. In older Chicago mid-rise and high-rise buildings, the usual sources are central gas hot water, heating, and common areas that run around the clock. Those are also the bills the owner usually pays, so they are where upgrades do most for the operating budget. Which savings reach the owner explains how to tell.
How funded upgrades help
Many of the measures that cut those bills, such as WaterSense showerheads and aerators, hot water pipe insulation, thermostats and LED lighting, are funded through ComEd and Peoples Gas efficiency programs at no capital cost to the owner. Lower reported energy use over two reporting years is what earns the improvement star.
We use your building’s public benchmarking data, with your bills, to estimate what it could receive before anyone visits. Do Chicago multifamily properties qualify for no-cost ComEd upgrades? covers eligibility.
See how it works in Chicago or request your free scan.
Source: City of Chicago, Chicago Energy Rating.