Ernest Righetti High School
K-12 School in California, CA · 941 E. Foster Rd., Santa Maria · 93455
At a glance
Ernest Righetti High School is a 246,114-square-foot K-12 school at 941 E. Foster Rd., Santa Maria in Santa Maria, California, built in 1964. In its 2024 California benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 87 out of 100 (grade A), a site energy-use intensity of 35.6 kBtu/ft² and 443 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 60% of the 2,016 scored K-12 school buildings in California.
AB 802 (Public Resources Code §25402.10) · reporting year 2024
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 87 (band A) |
| Site EUI | 35.6 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | — |
| GHG emissions | 443 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 1.8 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 608,570 kWh |
| Natural gas | 57,477 therms |
| Gross floor area | 246,114 sq ft |
| Source record | california:33911797:2024 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024latest | 87 | +8 | 35.6 kBtu/ft² | 443 tCO₂e |
| 2023 | 79 | 38.7 kBtu/ft² | 535 tCO₂e |
Compliance context
AB 802 (Public Resources Code §25402.10)
AB 802 requires every California commercial building over 50,000 sq ft to report energy use to the CEC annually; the CEC publicly discloses the results statewide.
Ownership
No owning organisation shown. Names of private individuals in the disclosure are not published here.
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Location
- Address
- 941 E. Foster Rd., Santa Maria
- City
- California
- State
- California
- ZIP
- 93455
- Coordinates
- 34.88440, -120.42127
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- Knollwood Meadows Apartmentsscore 98
Multifamily Housing · 65,700 sq ft
See also: most efficient in California · biggest emitters
How does Ernest Righetti High School compare with other K-12 school buildings in California?
The latest disclosures cover 2,128 K-12 school buildings in California, out of 40,029 buildings citywide. Ernest Righetti High School's ENERGY STAR score of 87 compares with an average of 74 across the 2,016 that report a score; it scores higher than 60% of them and lower than 37%. Its site EUI of 35.6 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 34.6 kBtu/ft². Its emissions intensity of 1.8 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 10% below the group average of 2.0 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 246,114 sq ft, it is about twice the average floor area of 129,123 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1964, 12 years earlier than the group's average year built (1976). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 6,548 K-12 school buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 64 and a site EUI of 52.7 kBtu/ft².
How has Ernest Righetti High School's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 2 California disclosures for Ernest Righetti High School, covering report years 2023–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 79 in 2023 to 87 in 2024 (+8 points). Site EUI moved from 38.7 kBtu/ft² (2023) to 35.6 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 8% decrease. Reported emissions went from 535 tCO₂e to 443 tCO₂e over the same span (down 17%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 87 mean?
ENERGY STAR scores run from 1 to 100 and are computed by the EPA's Portfolio Manager as a percentile against similar buildings nationwide, adjusted for climate, size and use: a score of 87 means the building performs better than about 87% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 87 falls in band A — high performer (85–100). Scores of 75 or higher meet the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification; certification itself is a separate, verified application that the disclosure does not record. In California, 65% of scored buildings are at 75 or above.
Site energy-use intensity (EUI) is the energy a building uses on site in a year divided by its floor area, in thousand Btu per square foot — lower is more efficient. Ernest Righetti High School's 35.6 kBtu/ft² across 246,114 sq ft works out to about 8.8 billion Btu (2,568 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. The disclosure also reports 608,570 kWh of electricity and 57,477 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires Ernest Righetti High School to report its energy use?
Ernest Righetti High School reports under AB 802 (Public Resources Code §25402.10), the legal basis of California's Building Energy Benchmarking Program (statewide), which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2024 disclosure (source record california:33911797:2024). AB 802 requires every California commercial building over 50,000 sq ft to report energy use to the CEC annually; the CEC publicly discloses the results statewide.
More K-12 school buildings in California
- Aragon High School· 245,899 sq ft · score 13 (D)
- Castaic High School· 245,806 sq ft · score 90 (A)
- Indian Springs High School· 245,431 sq ft · score 87 (A)
- Arroyo Valley High School· 245,310 sq ft · score 87 (A)
- Yuba City High School & Independence Academy· 245,279 sq ft · score 68 (C)
- Lowell High· 245,000 sq ft · score 94 (A)
- K-12 School buildings in California· 2,128 benchmarked
- All California benchmarked buildings· AB 802 (Public Resources Code §25402.10)
- Most efficient large buildings in California
- Least efficient large buildings in California
- Biggest emitters in California
Frequently asked questions
What is Ernest Righetti High School's energy grade?
Ernest Righetti High School scores 87 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band A, high performer (85–100) — in its 2024 California disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does Ernest Righetti High School use?
Its 2024 site energy-use intensity was 35.6 kBtu/ft² across 246,114 sq ft, including 608,570 kWh of electricity and 57,477 therms of natural gas.
What are Ernest Righetti High School's carbon emissions?
Ernest Righetti High School reported 443 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (1.8 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2024.
Where is Ernest Righetti High School?
Ernest Righetti High School is at 941 E. Foster Rd., Santa Maria, in Santa Maria, California 93455. Its coordinates are 34.88440, -120.42127 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Building Energy Benchmarking Program (statewide) file.
How big is Ernest Righetti High School and when was it built?
Ernest Righetti High School has 246,114 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2024 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1964 as its year built. It is classed as K-12 school.
Is Ernest Righetti High School covered by AB 802 (Public Resources Code §25402.10)?
Yes — it appears in the 2024 Building Energy Benchmarking Program (statewide) disclosure, which lists the buildings reporting under AB 802 (Public Resources Code §25402.10).
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About this data
Source: Building Energy Benchmarking Program (statewide) (AB 802 (Public Resources Code §25402.10)), as published July 9, 2026. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: BuildingCensus, “Ernest Righetti High School, Santa Maria, California — 2024 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/california/ernest-righetti-high-school-f51a853e (data as of July 9, 2026).