SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed an ordinance this week which amends the city’s Environmental Code to require owners of nonresidential commercial buildings to examine their energy usage as part of a city greening movement.
“This is legislation to require all commercial buildings in San Francisco to perform energy audits,” said board president David Chiu following passage of the Commercial Building Energy Performance ordinance.
President Chiu is optimistic about the effects of the new law: “Over the next few years there are enormous opportunities for buildings to conserve energy and save millions of dollars.”
Commercial building owners are required to submit two reports for public records: an Annual Energy Benchmark Summary (AEBS), and a five-year energy and performance audit.
The benchmark summary compares the energy consumption of individual buildings with calculated standards and similar buildings. These reports allow building owners and the city to see which buildings and building systems provide the most potential for return on investment after energy-efficiency upgrades are made.
The procedure for the five-year commercial building energy and performance audit can be found at the website for the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers: www.ashrae.com
New York has already joined the green building bandwagon. Buildings over 50,000 square feet are required by law (local law 84) to submit their first annual energy benchmark by May 1, 2011.
In a conversation with The Epoch Times, Supervisor Scott Wiener—who co-sponsored the newly passed ordinance—said that the new additions to the San Francisco Environmental Code do not force building owners to make changes but are a step in the right direction.
“This is legislation to require all commercial buildings in San Francisco to perform energy audits,” said board president David Chiu following passage of the Commercial Building Energy Performance ordinance.
President Chiu is optimistic about the effects of the new law: “Over the next few years there are enormous opportunities for buildings to conserve energy and save millions of dollars.”
Commercial building owners are required to submit two reports for public records: an Annual Energy Benchmark Summary (AEBS), and a five-year energy and performance audit.
The benchmark summary compares the energy consumption of individual buildings with calculated standards and similar buildings. These reports allow building owners and the city to see which buildings and building systems provide the most potential for return on investment after energy-efficiency upgrades are made.
The procedure for the five-year commercial building energy and performance audit can be found at the website for the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers: www.ashrae.com
New York has already joined the green building bandwagon. Buildings over 50,000 square feet are required by law (local law 84) to submit their first annual energy benchmark by May 1, 2011.
In a conversation with The Epoch Times, Supervisor Scott Wiener—who co-sponsored the newly passed ordinance—said that the new additions to the San Francisco Environmental Code do not force building owners to make changes but are a step in the right direction.
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