North Harbor Tower

175 N Harbor Dr, Chicago IL, 60601 Find on Google Maps

Chicago Building ID: 159524

Building Info

Square Footage: 629,694 sqft
Higher than 81% of others
2.1x the median, 2.0x the median Multifamily Housing
Median benchmarked building*:
296,415 sqft
Median benchmarked Multifamily Housing*:
322,820 sqft
Built: 1989
Primary Property Type: Multifamily Housing
Community Area: Loop
Chicago Energy Rating: 4.0 / 4
Energy Star Score: 93 / 100
Owner

Emissions & Energy Information

Greenhouse Gas Intensity: 5.2 kg CO₂e / sqft
Lower than 90% of others
0.7x the median, 0.8x the median Multifamily Housing
Median benchmarked building*:
7.7 kg CO₂e / sqft
Median benchmarked Multifamily Housing*:
6.8 kg CO₂e / sqft
Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions: 2,982.3 metric tons CO₂ eq.
Higher than 69% of others
1.4x the median, 1.5x the median Multifamily Housing
Median benchmarked building*:
2,063.4 metric tons CO₂ eq.
Median benchmarked Multifamily Housing*:
1,946.6 metric tons CO₂ eq.
Source Energy Usage Intensity: 94.5 kBtu / sqft
Lower than 91% of others
0.7x the median, 0.7x the median Multifamily Housing
Median benchmarked building*:
143.1 kBtu / sqft
Median benchmarked Multifamily Housing*:
127.9 kBtu / sqft
Site Energy Usage Intensity: 43.5 kBtu / sqft
Lower than 94% of others
0.5x the median, 0.6x the median Multifamily Housing
Median benchmarked building*:
81.9 kBtu / sqft
Median benchmarked Multifamily Housing*:
77.9 kBtu / sqft
Natural Gas Use: 8,957,598.7 kBtu
Lower than 64% of others
0.7x the median, 0.6x the median Multifamily Housing
Median benchmarked building*:
12,367,856.3 kBtu
Median benchmarked Multifamily Housing*:
14,588,457.9 kBtu
Electricity Use: 16,060,471.2 kBtu
Higher than 77% of others
1.8x the median, 2.2x the median Multifamily Housing
Median benchmarked building*:
8,755,592 kBtu
Median benchmarked Multifamily Housing*:
7,427,110.9 kBtu

* Important Note: Rankings and medians are among included buildings, which are those who reported under the Chicago Energy Benchmarking Ordinance for the year 2020 with emissions greater than 1,000 metric tons.

Data Source: Chicago Energy Benchmarking Data Covered Buildings

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: