1250 Connecticut Ave

1250 Connecticut Ave NW is an eight-story building located in the business district of Washington, D.C., close to the Dupont Circle neighborhood. This project, which recently achieved LEED v4.1 O+M Gold recertification, is an 189,000 sq ft commercial office building featuring a newly renovated lobby with rotating art exhibits and a modern conferencing facility. This building stands as a beacon of innovation and sustainability, setting high standards for the office tenant experience while reducing environmental impact where possible. Notable strategies include solar panel installation, implementation of a composting and recycling program, indoor air quality testing, and the pursuit of several building recertifications related to sustainability. Additionally, the project team has pursued several certifications and programs relating to sustainability, wellness, and energy efficiency, as outlined in the summary below.

To maximize energy performance and reduce operational emissions, two notable strategies were the installation of a PV system including 146 panels at 70.4 kW per panel as well as the addition of solar window film on all south and western-facing windows. The building operations/engineering team optimizes HVAC equipment start times using energy management software and local weather forecast data. This strategy specifically reduces overall HVAC run time and water consumption by decreasing cooling tower runtime, which is preferred as the cooling tower fan motor uses mechanical cooling. These strategies combined reduce energy consumption, utility costs, and greenhouse gas emissions, which are tracked and measured using tools outlined in the Performance section.

The team has shown a long-time commitment to tracking energy performance to monitor overall building efficiency by pursuing annual ENERGY STAR Certifications since 2012. The project demonstrated an improvement in its ENERGY STAR score, from a certified score of 80 in 2020 (Site EUI of 56.9 kBtu/sf) to a current certified score of 83 in 2023 (Site EUI of 45 kBtu/sf). The building is performing in the 83rd percentile with respect to energy efficiency when compared to similar buildings nationwide and the Source EUI is 40% lower than the National Median Source EUI. Across the CY2023 period, the rooftop PV system generated 224,667 kBtu of renewable energy for the building, reducing grid dependence.

With respect to maintaining indoor air quality, the building’s green cleaning initiatives were audited as part of the LEED certification effort. The property achieved a strong score of 1.43 out of 5 (ranging from 1 orderly/spotlessness to 5 unkept/neglect), demonstrating the effectiveness of its green cleaning policies. As referenced earlier in the Strategies section, the team contracted third-party IAQ testing. The IAQ testing results showed the building's TVOC and CO2 levels were well below LEED and ASHRAE standards. For example, ASHRAE standards dictate a maximum CO2 level of 800 ppm, and the building IAQ testing results showed the average 95th percentile CO2 level of 460 ppm. TVOC levels were reported to be < 45 ug/m3 or below the detectable limits of the measurement device, whereas the standard is 500 ug/m3.