San Francisco building owners:

What is San Francisco’s Energy Performance Ordinance?

This ordinance was created to track and publish energy usage data of existing nonresidential buildings through benchmarking. Nonresidential buildings are required to undergo standardized energy audits every five years, and owners must measure their building’s energy usage and submit the data to the City. This information is then made public so building owners and potential buyers can quickly see whether a building is operating efficiently relative to others of similar age and size.

Purpose

This ordinance was created to improve energy efficiency of the built environment. Energy benchmarking and auditing will help to greatly reduce greenhouse emissions from buildings, which will also lead to lower business operating costs and more affordable housing.

Does it impact me?

Owners of nonresidential buildings larger than 10,000 square feet are required to comply.

Exemptions include:

• New buildings with a Certificate of Occupancy dated 2 years prior to the benchmarking deadline
• Buildings with less than one full-time occupant

What are the deadlines?

The deadline for compliance is April 1 for all nonresidential buildings larger than 10,000 square feet.

What are the fines?

Owners of buildings larger than 50,000 square feet are subject to $100/day fines for each day of noncompliance (up to a maximum of 25 days). Owners of buildings smaller than 50,000 square feet are subject to a $50/day fine (up to a maximum of 25 days).

How do I comply?

In order to comply, building owners must conduct a standardized energy audit every five years and also report energy usage data to the San Francisco Department of the Environment using EPA's Portfolio Manager, a reporting tool that allows building owners to compare their building’s energy efficiency with similar buildings, on an annual basis.