Energy benchmarking law helps make D.C. top ranked Energy Star city

Washington, D.C. topped the annual U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ranking of U.S. cities with the most Energy Star buildings.

The nation’s capitol was propelled to the top spot by its new benchmarking law requiring large private buildings to measure and publicly report their energy and water performance using the Energy Star Portfolio Manager online tool. D.C. is the first city in the U.S. to adopt this law.

With 480 Energy Star-certified buildings, the EPA estimates D.C.'s Energy Star buildings have saved $127.1 million, and enough electricity to power 73,500 homes. Los Angeles fell to second place with 475 certified buildings.

To earn the Energy Star certification, a commercial building must score 75 or higher on an energy efficiency scale out of 100 on the Energy Star online tool. A score of 50 is the average. Certification requires a professional engineer or registered architect to verify that the assessment is accurate.