21 CLARENCE PL
Multifamily in San Francisco, CA · 178 Townsend St · 94107
At a glance
21 CLARENCE PL is a 82,375-square-foot multifamily building at 178 Townsend St in San Francisco, California, built in 2012. In its 2025 San Francisco benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 79 out of 100 (grade B), a site energy-use intensity of 36.9 kBtu/ft² and 146 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 22% of the 129 scored multifamily buildings in San Francisco.
SF Environment Code Chapter 20 · reporting year 2025
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 79 (band B) |
| Site EUI | 36.9 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 91.0 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 146 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 2.1 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 612,278 kWh |
| Natural gas | 4,933 therms |
| Gross floor area | 82,375 sq ft |
| Source record | sf:3788/131:2025 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025latest | 79 | +4 | 36.9 kBtu/ft² | 146 tCO₂e |
| 2024 | 75 | -10 | 44.9 kBtu/ft² | 176 tCO₂e |
| 2023 | 85 | -3 | 34.5 kBtu/ft² | 200 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 88 | 34.1 kBtu/ft² | 192 tCO₂e | |
| 2021 | — | — | — | |
| 2020 | — | 31.8 kBtu/ft² | 170 tCO₂e | |
| 2019 | 78 | +3 | 36.5 kBtu/ft² | 206 tCO₂e |
| 2018 | 75 | 38.0 kBtu/ft² | 214 tCO₂e |
Compliance context
SF Environment Code Chapter 20
San Francisco's ordinance requires annual benchmarking for commercial buildings over 10,000 sq ft, with administrative penalties for buildings that fail to report.
Ownership
No owning organisation shown. Names of private individuals in the disclosure are not published here.
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Location
- Address
- 178 Townsend St
- City
- San Francisco
- State
- California
- ZIP
- 94107
- Coordinates
- 37.77973, -122.39251
Within ~1 km
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See also: most efficient in San Francisco · biggest emitters
How does 21 CLARENCE PL compare with other multifamily buildings in San Francisco?
The latest disclosures cover 192 multifamily buildings in San Francisco, out of 2,509 buildings citywide. 21 CLARENCE PL's ENERGY STAR score of 79 compares with an average of 86 across the 129 that report a score; it scores higher than 22% of them and lower than 78%. Its site EUI of 36.9 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 34.9 kBtu/ft². Its emissions intensity of 2.1 kgCO₂e/ft² is roughly in line with the group average of 1.9 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 82,375 sq ft, it is about 57% below the average floor area of 191,699 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2012, 26 years later than the group's average year built (1986). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 238 multifamily buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 86 and a site EUI of 34.8 kBtu/ft².
How has 21 CLARENCE PL's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 8 San Francisco disclosures for 21 CLARENCE PL, covering report years 2018–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 75 in 2018 to 79 in 2025 (+4 points); its best year on file was 2022, at 88. Site EUI moved from 38.0 kBtu/ft² (2018) to 36.9 kBtu/ft² (2025), a 3% decrease. Reported emissions went from 214 tCO₂e to 146 tCO₂e over the same span (down 32%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 79 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 79 means the building performs better than about 79% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 79 falls in band B — above median (70–84). 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 San Francisco, 73% 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. 21 CLARENCE PL's 36.9 kBtu/ft² across 82,375 sq ft works out to about 3 billion Btu (891 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 91.0 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 612,278 kWh of electricity and 4,933 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires 21 CLARENCE PL to report its energy use?
21 CLARENCE PL reports under SF Environment Code Chapter 20, the legal basis of San Francisco's Existing Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2025 disclosure (source record sf:3788/131:2025). San Francisco's ordinance requires annual benchmarking for commercial buildings over 10,000 sq ft, with administrative penalties for buildings that fail to report.
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- Multifamily buildings in San Francisco· 192 benchmarked
- All San Francisco benchmarked buildings· SF Environment Code Chapter 20
- Most efficient large buildings in San Francisco
- Least efficient large buildings in San Francisco
- Biggest emitters in San Francisco
Frequently asked questions
What is 21 CLARENCE PL's energy grade?
21 CLARENCE PL scores 79 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band B, above median (70–84) — in its 2025 San Francisco disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does 21 CLARENCE PL use?
Its 2025 site energy-use intensity was 36.9 kBtu/ft² (91.0 kBtu/ft² source) across 82,375 sq ft, including 612,278 kWh of electricity and 4,933 therms of natural gas.
What are 21 CLARENCE PL's carbon emissions?
21 CLARENCE PL reported 146 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (2.1 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2025.
Where is 21 CLARENCE PL?
21 CLARENCE PL is at 178 Townsend St, in San Francisco, California 94107. Its coordinates are 37.77973, -122.39251 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Existing Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance file.
How big is 21 CLARENCE PL and when was it built?
21 CLARENCE PL has 82,375 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2025 disclosure. The disclosure lists 2012 as its year built. It is classed as multifamily.
Is 21 CLARENCE PL covered by SF Environment Code Chapter 20?
Yes — it appears in the 2025 Existing Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance disclosure, which lists the buildings reporting under SF Environment Code Chapter 20.
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About this data
Source: Existing Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance (SF Environment Code Chapter 20), as published October 2, 2026. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: BuildingCensus, “21 CLARENCE PL, San Francisco, California — 2025 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/san-francisco/21-clarence-pl-c30fc747 (data as of October 2, 2026).