San Francisco Environment Department

How to Comply with Benchmarking in San Francisco

Benchmarking is the process of tracking a building’s energy use, so you know how its performance compares to similar properties and understand how it’s performing over time. Each year you must send SF Environment an “Annual Energy Benchmark Summary” to prove you’ve benchmarked your building.

How to complete an Annual Energy Benchmark Summary

If you have already set up an ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager account and all data is up to date please go to Step 5. 

Step 1: Create a building profile in PG&E’s Building Benchmarking Portal

Step 2: Create a building profile in Portfolio Manager

Step 3: Obtain and input energy data

Step 4: Identify your parcel(s)

Step 5: Open the Energy Benchmark Summary template

Step 6: Confirm your data is complete and accurate

Step 7: Send data to SF Environment

Step 1: Create a building profile in PG&E’s Building Benchmarking Portal

Register an account in PG&E’s Building Benchmarking Portal, then log in and add your building.

For more detail, a great resource is: How to Benchmark Your Building Using PG&E’s Building Benchmarking Portal

Resources: 

Step 2: Create a building profile in Portfolio Manager

Register in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (Portfolio Manager) and create a profile for your building. To comply you must describe the entire building including common and tenant spaces and include all energy meters (including tenants) and any energy generated on-site.

Step 3: Obtain and input energy data

After preparing a profile of each building in Portfolio Manager, add energy use data. For PG&E customers, PG&E will electronically sync energy data with your Portfolio Manager account for free. This service saves the trouble of entering data by hand, and it is the most convenient way to gather data for both common and tenant meters. To set up PG&E Portfolio Manager Web Services, see: How to Benchmark Your Building Using PG&E's Building Benchmarking Portal (PDF).

Though it is possible to manually input data from utility bills, the automated service is recommended.

If you are a San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (PUC) customer, email [email protected] to request energy usage data for benchmarking.

Step 4: Identify your parcel(s)

For each building, add the Assessor Parcel Number (APN – also known as the block/lot number) to Portfolio Manager’s "San Francisco Building ID" field:

  • To look up Assessor Parcel Number(s), use the San Francisco Property Information Map
  • To add APN(s) to the San Francisco Building ID field in Portfolio Manager:
    • Go to the My Portfolio tab and click on the property name.
    • In the secondary gray set of tabs, select Details.
    • In the second box on the left, Unique Identifiers (IDs), click Edit.
    • In the Standard IDs dropdown, select San Francisco Building ID.
    • Enter the Assessor Parcel Number(s) in the ID field. For example, the San Francisco Building ID for 1 South Van Ness Ave is: 3506/001.
    • If your building has multiple APNs, please enter all of them, separated with a space.
    • Click Save.

Step 5: Open the Energy Benchmark Summary template

An Annual Energy Benchmark Summary is required every year; each year you must click a link below that corresponds to the required calendar year. 

To Add A Report Template (for the first time) select the report you want to submit:

To Return to a Report Template you've previously loaded:

  • Login to Portfolio Manager .
  • From “My Portfolio” click on the "Reporting" tab at the top.
  • Find the report that you want to generate, and in the "Action" dropdown, select "Respond to Data Request."

Step 6: Confirm your data is complete and accurate

Generate your report:

  • When you complete Step 5, you will land on the "Respond to Data Request" page.
  • In the "About Your Response" box, choose whose contact info you want to attach to your submittal for follow-up.
  • In the "Your Response" box, you will NOT be able to select the timeframe; that is fixed by the report template.
  • Below the timeframe, choose which properties you will release data for.
  • Click "Generate Response Preview".

Check your data:

  • Once the Response has been generated, on the Portfolio Manager "Reporting" tab the report should be highlighted in green.
  • Portfolio Manager has a data quality checker that will alert you if information is not entered correctly or if the report is missing data. If there is an error, an alert box will appear on the Reporting Tab. 
  • Please review the alerts by clicking “Read More”. You must fix all alerts. Submittals with errors and alerts will trigger follow-up from SF Environment, and delay approval. 
  • To check in more detail, select "Download Preview in Excel" from the dropdown on the right. In the downloaded file, check to make sure:
    • There are no issues in the Energy Alerts or Space Alerts fields.
    • Square footage is consistent with your records
    • Confirm energy usage data is complete and correct
    • San Francisco Building ID contains the Assessor Parcel Number
  • Once all alerts have been fixed and you have verified your data, generate an updated response in the Reporting tab.

Step 7: Send data to SF Environment

  • From the "Reporting" tab in Portfolio Manager, click the dropdown menu for the report where you have verified all data, and select "Send Response."
  • On the following page enter the necessary information and click "E-Sign Response."
  • Once you see the green check mark, click "Send Data," then "Continue" in the pop-up.
  • You will receive follow-up from SF Environment once we have reviewed your submittal. SF Environment will either indicate your report is complete or identify what is needed.

Links

San Francisco

EPA ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager

PG&E  

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