601 VAN NESS AVE

How does 601 VAN NESS AVE compare with other mixed residential buildings in San Francisco?

The latest disclosures cover 610 mixed residential buildings in San Francisco, out of 2,509 buildings citywide. 601 VAN NESS AVE's ENERGY STAR score of 87 compares with an average of 85 across the 340 that report a score; it scores higher than 32% of them and lower than 67%. Its site EUI of 33.8 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 36.0 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 1.9 kgCO₂e/ft² is roughly in line with the group average of 2.0 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 820,324 sq ft, it is about 395% above the average floor area of 165,572 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1983, 17 years later than the group's average year built (1967).

How has 601 VAN NESS AVE's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 8 San Francisco disclosures for 601 VAN NESS AVE, covering report years 2018–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 88 in 2022 to 87 in 2025 (-1 points); its best year on file was 2024, at 89. Site EUI moved from 36.8 kBtu/ft² (2022) to 33.8 kBtu/ft² (2025), a 8% decrease. Reported emissions went from 1,374 tCO₂e to 1,152 tCO₂e over the same span (down 16%).

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 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. 601 VAN NESS AVE's 33.8 kBtu/ft² across 820,324 sq ft works out to about 27.7 billion Btu (8,126 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 66.6 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 3,206,769 kWh of electricity and 99,135 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires 601 VAN NESS AVE to report its energy use?

601 VAN NESS AVE 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:0762/026-A: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.