San Francisco’s Existing Buildings Ordinance applies to non-residential buildings with gross floor area of 10,000 square feet or more and to multifamily residential buildings with 50,000 square feet or larger. The Ordinance has two separate requirements: energy benchmarking and energy audits. A related ordinance requires commercial the largest commercial buildings to obtain all on-site electricity use from 100% renewable sources.
News
Annual Energy Benchmark Reports for 2021 are due May 16, 2022. The 2021 reporting link was held until March 12 due to a data quality concern.
100% Renewable Electricity Ordinance: The largest commercial buildings are required to obtain all electricity from renewable sources by subscribing to a qualifying service.
Strategic Decarbonization Assessment is a financial planning method for managing carbon emissions and energy efficiency. SDA is an accepted option to fulfill the energy audit requirement of the Existing Buildings Ordinance.
California AB802 is a state law that requires commercial and multifamily buildings that are 50,000 gross square feet or larger to benchmark energy use each year. Submitting one annual benchmark report to SF Dept of Environment satisfies both local and state regulations.
Benchmarking
How to Comply with San Francisco's Benchmarking Requirement
Help with Benchmarking
What's the purpose of energy benchmarking?
FAQ
Energy Audits
How to Comply with San Francisco's Energy Audit Requirement
Minimum Qualifications for Energy Auditors
What's the purpose of an energy audit?
Supporting resources and financing
Resources
San Francisco Existing Buildings Dashboard
Existing Commercial Buildings Progress Report 2010-2014 (PDF)
Existing Commercial Buildings Task Force Report - December 2009 (PDF)
