San Francisco - Existing Buildings Energy Ordinance (EBO)
To encourage efficient use of energy, this Chapter requires owners of nonresidential buildings in San Francisco to obtain energy efficiency audits, as well as requiring owners of nonresidential and multifamily residential buildings to annually measure and disclose energy performance. It also requires the Department of the Environment to collect summary statistics about the energy performance of nonresidential and multifamily residential buildings and make those statistics available to the public.
SEC. 2002. ENERGY PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND REPORTING REQUIRED.
(a) Energy Efficiency Audits and Energy Efficiency Audit Reports. The owner of any Nonresidential Building with a gross area of 10,000 square feet or greater shall conduct a comprehensive energy efficiency audit for each such building. Energy efficiency audits shall comprehensively examine whole buildings, and must be completed on the schedule set forth in Section 2004, or as described in Section 2006, as applicable.
(b) Energy Efficiency Audit Standards. Energy efficiency audits required by this Chapter 20 shall meet or exceed the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Procedures for Commercial Building Energy Audits (2011), or shall comply with Section 2006, as applicable. Energy efficiency audits must be performed by, or under the supervision of, an energy professional as defined in subsections (c) and (d), below. The level of detail required in an energy efficiency audit shall be proportionate to the scale of the Nonresidential Building, such that:
(1) Nonresidential Buildings greater than 50,000 square feet in gross area shall receive a comprehensive audit of the whole building which meets or exceeds the Level II Audit standard or equivalent as determined by the Director.
(2) Nonresidential Buildings greater than 10,000 square feet and less than or equal to 49,999 square feet in gross area receive a walkthrough audit of the whole building which meets or exceeds the Level I audit standard, or equivalent as determined by the Director.
(c) Energy Efficiency Auditor Qualifications. An energy professional performing or supervising energy efficiency audits must be able to demonstrate possession in good standing of at least one of the following minimum qualifications:
(1) Licensed Engineer and one of the following:
(A) At least 2 years of experience performing energy efficiency audits or commissioning of existing buildings; or
(B) ASHRAE Commissioning Process Management Professional Certification; or
(C) Similar qualifications in energy efficiency analysis or commissioning.
(2) Association of Energy Engineers Certified Energy Manager (CEM), and at least 2 years of experience performing energy efficiency audits or commissioning of existing buildings;
(3) At least 10 years of experience as a building operating engineer, or at least 5 years of experience as a chief operating engineer and one of the following:
(A) BOC International Building Operator Certification; or
(B) International Union of Operating Engineers Certified Energy Specialist; or
(4) Equivalent professional qualifications to manage, maintain, or evaluate building systems, as well as specialized training in energy efficiency audits and maintenance of building systems, as determined by the Director and set forth on the Department of Environment website.
(d) Energy Efficiency Audit Report. The energy professional shall prepare, sign, and deliver to the owner of the Nonresidential Building a report of the energy efficiency audit which meets or exceeds the reporting standards set forth in ASHRAE Procedures for Commercial Building Energy Audits (2011 or later), or equivalent as determined by the Director pursuant to this Section 2002 or Section 2006, as applicable. The signed report shall be delivered to the owner of the Nonresidential Building. In the course of meeting the relevant ASHRAE standards for communication, the energy efficiency audit report shall include:
(1) The date(s) that the audit was performed;
(2) A list of all retro-commissioning and retrofit measures available to the owner;
(3) An estimate of the approximate energy savings, avoided energy cost, and costs to implement each measure; and
(4) One of the following:
(A) A list of all retro-commissioning and retrofit measures available to the owner with a simple payback of not more than 5 years; or
(B) A list of all retro-commissioning and retrofit measures available to the owner with a positive net present value; or
(C) An integrated package of retro-commissioning and retrofit measures that in combination will equal or exceed the total combined reduction in energy consumption of implementing all retrofit and retro-commissioning measures with a simple payback of not more than 5 years.
(e) Tracking and benchmarking energy performance. Building owners shall use “EPA ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager” to track the total energy use of each Nonresidential Building and obtain an ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager Energy Performance Rating for each applicable entire Nonresidential Building according to the schedule provided in Section 2004.
SEC. 2003. DISCLOSURE OF ENERGY PERFORMANCE INFORMATION.
(a) Annual Energy Benchmark Summary Reporting. The owner of every Building as defined in Section 2001 of this Chapter in the City shall annually file with the Department of the Environment an Annual Energy Benchmark Summary report (“AEBS”) for each Building using ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager and according to the schedule set forth in Section 2004. The AEBS shall be based on assessment in Portfolio Manager of the entire Building and related facilities, and must use 12 continuous months of data ending no earlier than two months prior to submittal to the Department of the Environment. Data required in the AEBS shall include, at a minimum:
(1) Descriptive Information. Basic descriptive information to track compliance with this Chapter 20, including but not limited to the Building address, the individual or entity responsible for the energy performance summary and energy efficiency audit, and similar information required by the Director for purposes of tracking and reporting compliance.
(2) Energy Benchmark Information.
(A) The ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager Energy Performance Rating for the Building, wherever applicable;
(B) The nonresidential building energy rating established by the State of California for the Building, if applicable;
(C) The weather-normalized energy use intensity per unit area per year (kBTU per square foot per year) for the Building;
(D) The energy use intensity per unit area per year (kBTU per square foot per year) for the Building;
(E) Energy consumption by fuel, including electricity, natural gas, and/or steam where applicable for the Building, on the same frequency as required by the California Energy Commission in Title 20 of the California Code of Regulations at Section 1683, or other applicable regulations, and specified on the Department of the Environment website;
(F) The annual carbon dioxide equivalent emissions due to energy use for the Building as estimated by ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager or other tools approved by the Director in a manner consistent with Department Climate Action Plan Reporting procedures;
(G) Similar metrics calculated by ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager;
(H) Descriptive information required by Portfolio Manager to assess the property, such as facility gross square footage; and
(I) Additional data consistent with regulations adopted by the California State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission in implementation of California Public Resources Code 25402.10.
(b) Energy Efficiency Audit Reporting. The owner of every Nonresidential Building shall file a Confirmation of Energy Efficiency Audit for each Nonresidential Building with the Department of the Environment according to the schedule set forth in Section 2004 or Section 2006, as applicable. The Confirmation of Energy Efficiency Audit shall be limited to:
(1) Acknowledgement of the type of energy efficiency audit required for the Nonresidential Building.
(2) For the most recent energy efficiency audit meeting these requirements, a summary of:
(A) The date(s) that the audit was performed, along with affirmation by the energy professional and building owner that the audit meets the applicable standards;
(B) A list of all retro-commissioning and retrofit measures available to the owner with a simple payback of not more than 3 years, or with a beneficial net present value, or in an integrated package of measures;
(C) The sum of estimated costs, as well as the sum of estimated energy savings if the list of identified measures, and indication which measures at the option of the owner have been implemented; and
(D) An inventory of the significant energy-using systems and features of the Non-residential Building, utilizing the United States Department of Energy’s “Audit Template,” or equivalent as determined by the Director and set forth on the Department of the Environment website.
(c) Publication of Limited Summary Data. The Department of the Environment shall make available to the public, update at least annually, and report to the California Energy Commission for compliance with California Public Resources Code Section 25402.10, the following information:
(1) Summary statistics on energy use in Buildings in San Francisco derived from aggregation of Annual Energy Benchmark Summary reports, aggregation of Confirmation of Energy Efficiency Audits, and relevant additional aggregate data as available;
(2) Summary statistics on overall compliance with this Chapter 20;
(3) For each Building:
(A) The status of compliance with the requirements of this Chapter; and
(B) Annual summary statistics for the whole Building from the Annual Energy Benchmark Summary, including annual average energy use intensity, ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager Energy Performance Rating where available, California energy performance ratings if available, annual carbon dioxide emissions attributable to energy use in the Building, and additional data consistent with State regulations implementing California Public Resources Code 25402.10.
(4) For each Nonresidential Building:
(A) The minimum required ASHRAE level for an energy efficiency audit;
(B) The most recent date when an energy efficiency audit meeting the required ASHRAE level was completed;
(d) Tenant Notification. In order to engage Building occupants in efforts to save energy, Building owners must make the Annual Energy Benchmark Summary report available to all tenants occupying the Building.
(e) Individually-Metered Tenant Spaces. Where a unit or other space in a Building is occupied by a tenant and such unit or space is separately metered by a utility company, the owner of the Building shall acquire energy usage data for all meters in the Building solely for the purpose of benchmarking the energy performance of the Building as a whole, consistent with California Public Resources Code Section 25402.10. Nothing in this Chapter 20 shall require or in any way change the ability of a Building owner to report or disclose energy usage of individual tenants.
(f) Quality Assurance. To assist with the reliability and utility of Annual Energy Benchmark Summary and Confirmation of Energy Efficient Audit report data, as well as to verify good faith compliance with this Chapter 20, the Director shall have the authority to review relevant documents, including an ENERGY STAR® Statement of Energy Performance or equivalent, or Energy Efficiency Audit Report. The Director may promulgate regulations to require stamp and signature of such documents by an Engineer or Architect licensed to perform work in California. In the event an energy efficiency audit report or Statement of Energy Performance is found to have failed to meet the criteria in Section 2002(a) through (d), the Director may apply the administrative penalties specified in Section 2009, and the Building owner shall correct the errors and resubmit the energy efficiency audit report or Statement of Energy performance within 45 days of being notified by the Director of the insufficiencies of the original submission. Any energy-related information obtained in the course of Quality Assurance beyond items explicitly required to be made public in Section 2003(c) shall remain confidential to the extent permitted by law, unless designated in writing by the building owner to be public or otherwise demonstrated to be common knowledge.
SEC. 2004. SCHEDULE FOR COMPLIANCE.
(a) Annual Energy Benchmark Summary Reports from Portfolio Manager.
(1) For a Nonresidential Building with gross area greater than or equal to 50,000 square feet, the owner must complete and submit the initial Annual Energy Benchmark Summary report on or before October 1, 2011, and annually no later than April 1 thereafter. Annual Energy Benchmark Summary report data submitted prior to January 1, 2012 shall not be published, is exempt from Section 2003(c) and (d) of this Chapter 20, and shall remain confidential to the extent permitted by law, unless designated in writing by the building owner to be public or otherwise demonstrated to be common knowledge.
(2) For a Nonresidential Building with gross area greater than 25,000 square feet but less than or equal to 49,999 square feet, the owner must complete and submit the initial AEBS on or before April 1, 2012, and annually no later than April 1 thereafter. Annual Energy Benchmark Summary report data submitted prior to January 1, 2013 for Nonresidential Buildings with gross area less than or equal to 50,000 square feet shall not be published, is exempt from Section 2003(c) and (d) of this Chapter, and shall remain confidential to the extent permitted by law, unless designated in writing by the building owner to be public or otherwise demonstrated to be common knowledge.
(3) For a Nonresidential Building with gross area greater than 10,000 square feet but less than or equal to 24,999 square feet, the owner must complete and submit the initial AEBS on or before April 1, 2013, and annually no later than April 1 thereafter. Annual Energy Benchmark Summary report data submitted prior to January 1, 2013 for Buildings with gross area less than or equal to 25,000 square feet shall not be published, is exempt from Section 2003(c) and (d) of this Chapter, and shall remain confidential to the extent permitted by law, unless designated in writing by the building owner to be public or otherwise demonstrated to be common knowledge.
(4) For Residential Buildings with a gross area greater than 50,000 square feet, the owner must complete and submit the initial AEBS on or before July 1, 2019, and annually no later than April 1 thereafter. Annual Energy Benchmark Summary report data submitted prior to January 1, 2020 for Residential Buildings shall not be published, is exempt from Section 2003(c) and (d) of this Chapter, and shall remain confidential to the extent permitted by law, unless designated in writing by the building owner to be public or otherwise demonstrated to be common knowledge.
(b) Energy Efficiency Audits and Reporting.
(1) No later than 120 days after enactment of this Chapter 20, the Department of the Environment shall establish a schedule for energy efficiency audit reports for Nonresidential Buildings not covered by Section 2006, such that:
(A) To ensure sufficient energy auditing capacity, due dates for initial energy efficiency audits for all Nonresidential Buildings shall be staggered over a three year rolling deadline, starting no later than 12 months after the effective date of this Chapter, with subsequent energy efficiency audits and energy efficiency audit reports every five years thereafter.
(B) All Nonresidential Buildings required to undertake an energy efficiency audit shall be assigned a specific date when a completed energy efficiency audit is due.
(C) The Department of the Environment shall notify the owner of each Nonresidential Building of the requirements of this Chapter one year prior to the date an energy efficiency audit is required to be completed.
(2) The owners of Nonresidential Buildings in existence on the effective date of this Chapter may comply with the first assigned due date for an energy efficiency audit by submitting records of audits, retro-commissioning, and retrofits performed not more than 3 years prior to the effective date of this Chapter, provided that the entire building was evaluated and that the energy efficiency audit reports performed prior to the completion of rule-making are signed and dated by a Professional Engineer, Certified Energy Manager, Certified Energy Auditor, or person with similar professional credentials as determined by the Director. Such submittals shall include certification that all work associated with the audit (including but not limited to surveys, inspections, and analyses) was completed not more than 3 years prior to the effective date of this Chapter, and meets at least one of the following criteria:
(A) For Nonresidential Buildings greater than or equal to 50,000 square feet in gross area, energy efficiency audits performed prior to the completion of rule-making must meet the Level II audit standard.
(B) For Nonresidential Buildings 49,999 square feet in gross area or less, energy efficiency audits performed prior to the completion of rule-making must meet the Level I audit standard.
(C) An energy efficiency audit of the entire Nonresidential Building for work implemented under the San Francisco Energy Watch program.
(D) Other comprehensive energy efficiency audit of the entire Nonresidential Building, subject to approval by the Director.
SEC. 2008. EXCEPTIONS.
(a) Energy Efficiency Audit. No energy efficiency audit is required if any one of the following exceptions apply:
(1) New Construction. The Nonresidential Building was newly constructed less than five years prior to the date an energy performance summary is due;
(2) Regular ENERGY STAR®. The Nonresidential Building has received the EPA ENERGY STAR® label from the US.1 Environmental Protection Agency for at least three of the five years preceding the filing of the building’s energy performance summary; or,
(3) LEED Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance. The Nonresidential Building has been certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system for Existing Buildings Operation and Maintenance published by the United States Green Building Council or other rating system for whole existing buildings as determined by the Department of the Environment, within five years prior to the date the building’s energy performance summary would otherwise be due.
(4) Financial Distress. Owners of financially distressed buildings may apply for extensions of not more than one year in each instance for completion of an Energy Efficiency Audit and submittal of Confirmation of Energy Efficiency Audit, and for not more than one year in each instance for submittal of an Energy Benchmark Summary. Buildings in financial distress at the time an Energy Efficiency Audit or Energy Benchmark Summary are due include:
(A) Properties qualified for sale at public auction by the Treasurer and Tax Collector due to arrears of property taxes that resulted in the property’s qualification for sale at public auction or acquisition by a public agency within two years prior to the due date of an energy efficiency audit report;
(B) Buildings where a court appointed receiver is in control of the asset due to financial distress;
(C) Buildings owned by a financial institution through default by the borrower;
(D) Buildings acquired by a deed in lieu of foreclosure; and
(E) Buildings where the senior mortgage is subject to a notice of default.
(5) Three or More Buildings Under Common Ownership. Where the same person or entity owns three or more buildings subject to this Chapter, and the Energy Efficiency Audit due dates for more than one-third of those buildings fall within a single twelve-month period, the building owner may apply to the Director for, and shall be granted, an extension, not to exceed one year, of the due dates for the Energy Efficiency Audits and Confirmations of Energy Efficiency Audits for up to two-thirds of the buildings under common ownership. The application shall specify which buildings are to be covered by the extension.
(b) Confirmation of Energy Efficiency Audit. Where an energy efficiency audit is not required due to one of the exceptions in Section 2008(a), the Confirmation of Energy Efficiency Audit shall be filed, shall include reference to the exception that applies, and shall include a copy of relevant documentation for verification by the Department of Environment:
(1) Date of New Construction may be verified using a copy of the Certificate of Occupancy issued by the Department of Building Inspection.
(2) ENERGY STAR® label may be verified using a report from Portfolio Manager signed by the professional engineer, or confirmation of listings on the US Environmental Protection Agency list of ENERGY STAR labeled buildings.
(3) LEED for Existing Buildings Operation and Maintenance certification may be verified using a copy of the relevant certificate or confirmation of listing on the Green Building Certification Institute’s LEED Certified Projects List; and
(4) Financial distress may be verified using a record of sale at public auction or an affidavit from the Treasurer Tax Collector.
(5) Exceptions under subsection (a)(5) may be verified using a copy of the extension granted by the Director.
(c) Annual Energy Benchmark Summary. Exceptions to energy efficiency audit requirements do not affect the date when an AEBS report is due. However, benchmarking with Energy Star Portfolio Manager is not required under the following conditions:
(1) New Buildings. New buildings may receive an extension to the date of submittal of an initial Annual Energy Benchmark Summary report of not less than 24 months from the date that a Certificate of Occupancy is issued by the Department of Building Inspection, or the applicable deadline in the Department of the Environment compliance schedule, whichever is greater. AEBS reports shall be due annually thereafter.
(2) Unoccupied Buildings. Benchmarking with Energy Star Portfolio Manager is not required if the building had less than one full-time equivalent occupant for the twelve-month period preceding the due date of an Annual Energy Benchmark Summary.
SEC. 2009. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Written Warning of Violation. The Director shall issue a written warning to any building owner he or she determines is violating any provision of this Chapter. In the event a building owner fails to file an AEBS report for 30 days or more after the relevant deadline, the Director shall indicate that building's compliance status via the publicly accessible electronic reporting interface. If 45 days after issuing a written warning of violation from the Director, the Director finds that building owner continues to violate any provisions of this Chapter, the Director may impose administrative fines as provided in this Section.
(b) Administrative Fines. Violations of the provisions of this Chapter, or of any regulations issued by the Director pursuant to Section 2007, may be punished by administrative fines as follows:
(1) For buildings of 50,000 square feet and greater, up to $100.00 per day for a maximum of 25 days in one twelve-month period for each building in violation.
(2) For buildings of 49,999 square feet or less, up to $50.00 per day for a maximum of 25 days in one twelve-month period for each building in violation.
Except as to the amount of administrative fines, set forth above, Administrative Code Chapter 100, "Procedures Governing the Imposition of Administrative Fines," as may be amended from time to time, is hereby incorporated in its entirety and shall govern the imposition, enforcement, collection, and review of administrative citations issued by the Department of the Environment to enforce this Chapter and any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to this Chapter.
(c) Use of Proceeds. Administrative fine collected under subsection (b) shall be used to fund implementation and enforcement of this Chapter.
(d) This Section shall not apply to the City or to any municipally owned buildings.
For full ordinance reference:
https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_francisco/latest/sf_environment/0-0-0-1758
