340 E Superior Street 

340 E Superior Street, Chicago IL, 60611 Find on Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Chicago Building ID: 256407

Building Info

Square Footage
187,974 sqft
Higher than 61% of all buildings
1.3x median
139,707 sqft
1.6x median College/University
119,629 sqft
Built
1925
Primary Property Type
College/University
Community Area
Near North Side
Owner
Northwestern University
View All Tagged Northwestern Buildings

Note: Owner manually tagged. Logo used under fair use.

Emissions & Energy Information for 2022

Greenhouse Gas Intensity
12.6 kg CO2e / sqft
Higher than 93% of all buildings
2.0x median
6.4 kg CO2e / sqft
1.5x median College/University
8.4 kg CO2e / sqft
Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions
2,366 tons CO2e
#10 Highest of College/Universities 🚨
Higher than 81% of all buildings
2.7x median
885.8 tons CO2e
2.5x median College/University
952.6 tons CO2e

Years Reported 5/5 A

  • 2018 data reported

    2018

  • 2019 data reported

    2019

  • 2020 data reported

    2020

  • 2021 data reported

    2021

  • 2022 data reported

    2022

Energy Breakdown

Natural Gas Use
20,905,747 kBtu
Est. Gas Bill: $249,000 for 2022**
#6 Highest of College/Universities 🚨
Higher than 88% of all buildings
3.6x median
5,818,399.6 kBtu
4.3x median College/University
4,847,201 kBtu
Electricity Use
9,532,621.4 kBtu
Est. Electric Bill: $400,000 for 2022**
Higher than 78% of all buildings
2.5x median
3,796,376.7 kBtu
1.9x median College/University
4,940,922.2 kBtu

Energy Mix

Total Energy Use: 30,438,368 kBTU

View Extra Technical Info
Source Energy Usage Intensity
258.8 kBtu / sqft
Higher than 93% of all buildings
2.0x median
132.2 kBtu / sqft
1.5x median College/University
173.4 kBtu / sqft
Site Energy Usage Intensity
161.9 kBtu / sqft
Higher than 94% of all buildings
2.1x median
78.4 kBtu / sqft
1.7x median College/University
93.1 kBtu / sqft

Full Historical Data Table

Year Floor Area sqft Chicago Energy
Rating 		GHG Intensity kg CO2e / sqft GHG Emissions metric tons CO2e Source EUI kBTU / sqft Electricity Use kBTU Natural Gas Use kBTU
2018 187,974 1.0 14.22,663.8256.69,070,99321,740,031
2019 187,974 1.0 13.72,568.5246.88,977,18320,239,483
2020 187,974 1.0 12.72,382237.68,480,29519,928,648
2021 187,974 1.0 12.42,333244.38,560,33220,905,747
2022 187,974 1.0 12.62,366258.89,532,62120,905,747

* Note on Rankings: Rankings and medians are among included buildings, which are those who reported under the Chicago Energy Benchmarking Ordinance for the year 2022, which only applies to buildings over 50,000 square feet.

** Note on Bill Estimates: Estimates for gas and electric bills are based on average electric and gas retail prices for Chicago in 2021 and are rounded. We expect large buildings would negotiate lower rates with utilities, but these estimates serve as an upper bound of cost and help understand the volume of energy a building is used by comparing it to your own energy bills! See our Chicago Gas & Electric Costs Source (opens in a new tab) for the original statistics.

Data Source: Chicago Energy Benchmarking Data (opens in a new tab)

What Should We Do About This?

Practically every building has room to improve with energy efficiency upgrades like insulation, switching to ENERGY STAR rated appliances, and more, but for any buildings with large natural gas use, we recommend one thing: electrify!

In other words, buildings should look to move all on-site uses of fossil fuels (including space heating, water heating, and cooking) to electrically powered systems like industrial grade heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, and induction stoves. With Illinois' current electric supply, just using the same amount of energy from electricity, rather than natural gas (aka methane) will dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is because Illinois' grid in 2020 was already 67% carbon-free (see Illinois - Power | DecarbMyState (opens in a new tab)). This has already been done across the country with a variety of buildings, large and small, like the Hotel Marcel (opens in a new tab).

You can help make this a reality by talking to building owners and letting them know that a building's emissions are important to you, and that you want to see their building become fully electric and stop emitting greenhouse gases. Particularly for buildings you have a financial stake in (like your university, work, condo building, or apartment building) your voice in concert with your fellow building users can have a huge impact.

Additional Resources

See some additional resources on improving energy efficiency and understanding this data: