San Jose Building Performance Ordinance (BPO) Frequently Asked Questions

Exemptions include:

• Buildings owned by the State or Federal government
• Buildings zoned as heavy or light industrial  (HI or LI)
• Buildings zoned IP (Industrial Park) with >50% of the gross floor area is used exclusively for industrial, manufacturing or research and design.
• Condominiums and individually-owned townhomes
• Financial distress - specific conditions must apply such as:

  • Building is on the City’s annual tax lien sales within the prior two years

  • Building has a court-appointed receiver in control of assets due to financial distress

  • Building is owned by a financial institution via default by borrower

  • Building has been acquired by a deed in lieu of foreclosure

  • Building has a senior mortgage subject to notice of default

• Building Use/Occupancy

  • The building did not receive energy or water services for at least 30 days during the calendar year to be benchmarked

  • The building did not have a Certificate of Occupancy for Temporary Certificate of Occupancy for any portion of the calendar year to be benchmarked.

  • The entire building was not occupied due to renovation for any portion of the calendar year to be benchmarked

  • A demolition permit for the entire building has been issued and demolition work has commenced on or before the data benchmarking compliance deadline

  • The disclosure of the building energy or water use would result in the release of proprietary information that can be characterized as a trade secret or would otherwise violate a customer’s right to privacy under the California Constitution or other applicable law

To apply for an exemption, complete the form at sanjoseca.gov/benchmarking and submit to benchmarking@sanjoseca.gov.

Yes, buildings may be granted an extension of time up to 60 days. An additional extension of up to 180 days may be granted upon demonstration of a substantial hardship. To apply for an extension complete the form at www.sanjoseca.gov/benchmarking.  Extension requests must be submitted by May 1st.

The ordinance applies to “buildings” not “properties”. So, if no one building exceeds 20,000 square feet the ordinance is not applicable. However, there is one important exception. If two or more buildings share a common meter (with no submeter) such that the energy or water use for a single building cannot be determined, then the square footage of the buildings sharing that meter are summed to arrive at the 20,000 square foot requirement. For example, if a 9000 square foot building and an 11,000 square foot building share a common meter, then the two buildings must be benchmarked as one.

An Energy or Water audit is required every 5 years unless:

• A building can verify that it meets key performance standards through its annual benchmark reports
• If a building cannot meet the High-Performance energy or water standards (aka EXEMPTIONS), it must have an audit, retuning, or complete targeted efficiency upgrades to improve performance.

Proof of compliance must be submitted on May 1st, once every five years. The schedule is based on the last digit of your building tax assessor parcel number.

There are four (4) possible pathways within the "Beyond" requirement:

1. An EXEMPTION:  If you have a "High-Performing" building (one that is Energy/Water Efficient) you may qualify for an Energy or Water EXEMPTION.
2. EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS:  Failing an EXEMPTION, you may pursue the "Efficiency Improvement" pathway, where you must make improvements from a pre-approved list.  Many of these improvements are Title 24 requirements, so you may have already implemented some.
3. ENERGY/ WATER AUDIT: If you qualify for neither of the above, you must conduct an Energy and/or Water audit (It's possible to qualify for one of the above for Energy but not Water, or vice versa.) or

4. RETRO-COMMISSIONING FOR ENERGY OR WATER: You may perform retro-commissioning instead of an audit.  Retro-commissioning requires an energy specialist to evaluate the building's systems and equipment to identify problems and opportunities for improvement. Retro-commissioning can help address issues that arise over time, such as aging equipment or changes in how the building is used. 

   If you are not prepared to submit your report by the May 1st deadline, you should submit an extension request. The City of San Jose offers extensions of 60 to 180 days if you need additional time to fulfill requirements. Extension requests must be submitted by May 1st.

A. The Property is new and has been occupied for less than five (5) years from its first compliance due date or

B. The Property is a "HIGH-PERFORMANCE" building.  A "High Performance" building has met one of the following criteria for at least two of the last three calendar years.

The High-Performance Exemptions for Energy 

1. The Property has a current LEED Certification2
2. The Property has received an ENERGY STAR® Score of 75 or greater 
3. The Property has improved its ENERGY STAR® Score by fifteen (15) points or more relative to its performance during the baseline year  
4. The Property has a weather-normalized Site Energy Use Intensity (EUI) that is 25% below the calculated mean for that property type 
5. The Property has reduced its weather-normalized source Energy Use Intensity by at least 15% relative to its performance during the baseline year.

The High-Performance Exemptions for Water

1. The building has received a US EPA Water Score of 75 from the US EPA
2. The Property has improved its US EPA Water Score by fifteen (15) points or more relative to its performance during the baseline year
3. The Property has a Water Use Intensity as calculated by the Benchmarking Tool that is 25% below the locally calculated mean for that property type
4. The Property has reduced its Water Use Intensity by at least 15% relative to its performance during the baseline year.

Failing the "High-Performance" exemption, the next option is the "EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT" option.  See the question below for the requirements for the Efficiency Improvement pathway

QUALIFYING FOR THE EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT OPTION

If you don’t meet the "High-Performance" exemption requirements, you may qualify for the Improvement option by completing two (2) measures below for both Energy and Water. (Partial lists shown)  A Level I energy/water audit is required after completion.  

Energy Improvement Measures that Qualify

1. Installation of common area & exterior lighting fixtures per Title 24

2. Installation of domestic water heaters in following Title 24

3. Replace existing refrigerators with ENERGY STAR-certified models

4. Replace existing gas stoves with electric induction models

5. Installation of smart thermostats

6. Replace gas water heaters with tankless water heaters

7. Insulate all hot water pipes

8. Participate in an approved energy utility retrofit program (take advantage of rebates or incentive programs for upgrades)

Water Efficiency Improvement Measures that Qualify 

1. Adopt Title 24 requirements for installed plumbing

2. Landscaping and irrigation that comply with the San Jose Municipal Code

3. Insulation on all hot water pipes

4. Participate in an approved water utility retrofit program (take advantage of rebate or incentive programs for upgrades)

Upon completion, a Level I energy and water audit is required.  

• Buildings under 50,000 square feet may be fined $25 for each day of non-compliance, up to $2500 per calendar year.
• Buildings 50,000 square feet and over may be fined $50 for each day of non-compliance, up to $5000 per calendar year.

The instructions may be labeled as simple, however the EPA ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager software is anything but “user friendly” or easy to use. There is a rather long and steep learning curve exemplified by PG&E’s 35-page instruction manual (or Los Angeles’ benchmarking manual is 84 pages).

Most building owner’s find that is it not the most efficient use of their or their employees time to learn the software for an annual report. That’s where we come in. Pegasus has been preparing energy benchmark reports since 2012. We have made the process as simple as possible. You give us some basic information about your building - and we do the work! Give us a call at 415-937-5046.

1. The ordinance requires the audit to be certified by a California-licensed engineer or architect or Qualified Auditor Retro-Commissioning Professional. If you have such talent in-house with the right skill set, you may have your licensed professional sign off on the audit report. If you do not have that talent in-house or have a better use of their time, Pegasus can conduct your energy and water audit.