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.