Kersten Physics Teaching Center
Chicago Building ID: 252040
Building Info
- Square Footage
- 59,287 sqftLower than 91% of all buildings1/2 median139,707 sqft1/2 median College/University119,629 sqft
- Built
- 1985
- Primary Property Type
- College/University
- Community Area
- Hyde Park
-
Chicago Energy Rating
- 2.0 / 4
- Owner
View All Tagged UChicago Buildings
Note: Owner manually tagged. Logo used under fair use.
Emissions & Energy Information for 2022
- Greenhouse Gas Intensity
- 9.9 kg CO2e / sqftHigher than 86% of all buildings1.5x median6.4 kg CO2e / sqft1.2x median College/University8.4 kg CO2e / sqft
- Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- 588 tons CO2eLower than 67% of all buildings0.7x median885.8 tons CO2e0.6x median College/University952.6 tons CO2e
Years Reported 8/8 A
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Note: Buildings are marked as reporting when we have greenhouse gas intensity values for them, but some buildings are missing GHG intensity values but have reported the underlying energy use data, but we're unsure why this is the case.
Energy Breakdown
- Natural Gas Use
- 0 kBtu#5 Lowest of College/Universities 🏆Lower than 97% of all buildingsMedian Chicago Building5,818,399.6 kBtuMedian College/University4,847,201 kBtuThis Building Uses District Heating ❗
Although this building didn't burn any natural gas on site, it's connected to a district heating system, a centralized system for heating multiple buildings. District heating systems can be fully electric, but in Chicago most district heating systems are natural gas powered, meaning this building was most likely still heated with natural gas.
- Electricity Use
- 1,505,829.3 kBtuEst. Electric Bill: $63,000 for 2022**#5 Lowest of College/Universities 🏆Lower than 81% of all buildings1/3 median3,796,376.7 kBtu1/3 median College/University4,940,922.2 kBtu
- District Steam Use
- 5,002,513.7 kBtu
Most buildings don't use district steam, so we don't currently have comparison data.
- District Chilled Water Use
- 1,090,872 kBtu
Most buildings don't use district chilling, so we don't currently have comparison data.
Energy Mix
Total Energy Use: 7,599,215 kBTU
View Extra Technical Info
- Source Energy Usage Intensity
- 189.4 kBtu / sqftHigher than 82% of all buildings1.4x median132.2 kBtu / sqft1.1x median College/University173.4 kBtu / sqft
- Site Energy Usage Intensity
- 128.2 kBtu / sqftHigher than 89% of all buildings1.6x median78.4 kBtu / sqft1.4x median College/University93.1 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 | District Steam Use kBTU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 59,287 | - | 15.1 | 896 | 258.6 | 1,926,952 | - | 6,511,992 |
| 2016 | 59,287 | - | 10.5 | 623.9 | 186.1 | 1,673,644 | - | 3,602,274 |
| 2017 | 59,287 | - | 20.3 | 1,203.6 | 363.2 | 1,577,583 | - | 12,681,474 |
| 2018 | 59,287 | 3.0 | 12.5 | 741.8 | 220.9 | 1,423,728 | - | 6,909,678 |
| 2019 | 59,287 | 3.0 | 11.9 | 703.1 | 213.3 | 1,504,442 | - | 6,129,482 |
| 2020 | 59,287 | 4.0 | 8.4 | 500.4 | 151.7 | 1,249,754 | - | 3,912,141 |
| 2021 | 59,287 | 4.0 | 8.9 | 529.6 | 166.0 | 1,410,605 | 0 | 3,999,613 |
| 2022 | 59,287 | 2.0 | 9.9 | 588 | 189.4 | 1,505,829 | 0 | 5,002,513 |
* 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
for the original statistics.
Data Source:
Chicago Energy Benchmarking Data
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 ).
This has already been done across the country with a variety of buildings, large and
small, like the
Hotel Marcel
.
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: