Following the launch of Assembly Bill 802, individual cities have continued to push the envelope with updates to its implementation. These municipal ordinances build on the current energy benchmarking law which requires existing commercial and multifamily buildings over 50,000 square feet to submit whole building energy data via ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Below are some notable municipal ordinances which will be updated in 2020:
| City/Ordinance | Building Type/Size | Annual City Submission Deadline | Data to Report | Energy Assessments |
| Berkeley
Building Energy Service Ordinance (BESO) |
All Buildings >25,000 sf | July 1st | Energy | > 25,000 sf – Every 5 years |
| < 25,000 sf – Every 10 years | ||||
| Los Angeles Existing Building Energy and Water Efficiency Ordinance (EBEWE) | Municipal >7,500 sf | June 1st | Energy & Water |
Water Audit, Energy Audit or Retro-Commissioning every 5 years |
| Commercial/Multifamily >20,000 sf | ||||
| San Francisco Energy Consumption Benchmarking Ordinance (ECBO) | Commercial >10,000 sf | April 1st | Energy & Water |
10,000-50,000 sf – ASHRAE Level 1 Audit every 5 years |
| Multifamily >50,000 sf | >50,000 sf – ASHRAE Level 2 Audit every 5 years | |||
| San Jose
Energy and Water Building Performance Ordinance (BPO) |
Commercial/Multifamily >20,000 sf | May 1st | Energy & Water |
Energy Audit or Retro-Commissioning every 5 years |
As more jurisdictions enforce greater laws emphasizing energy conservation, internal audits become more and more critical to your continued success as a competitor (in addition to code compliance). VCA Green offers both AB 802 Compliance and Energy Auditing services to assist with these matters and more. If your building(s) must comply with any of these new ordinances or present potential areas of improvement, please contact Moe Fakih below for more information on how to meet your energy expenditure goals.
Moe Fakih, Principal
714-363-4700 x501
mfakih@vca-green.com
Contributing Writer: Yvonne Lo
Image source: redwallpapers.com, free use.