Waterbend

How does Waterbend compare with other multifamily buildings in San Francisco?

The latest disclosures cover 192 multifamily buildings in San Francisco, out of 2,509 buildings citywide. Waterbend's ENERGY STAR score of 100 compares with an average of 86 across the 129 that report a score; it scores higher than 78% of them. Its site EUI of 23.1 kBtu/ft² is about 34% below the average of 34.9 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 1.3 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 34% below the group average of 1.9 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 255,094 sq ft, it is about 33% above the average floor area of 191,699 sq ft for those buildings. 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 Waterbend's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 8 San Francisco disclosures for Waterbend, covering report years 2018–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score was 100 in both 2018 and 2025. Site EUI moved from 25.6 kBtu/ft² (2018) to 23.1 kBtu/ft² (2025), a 10% decrease. Reported emissions went from 307 tCO₂e to 251 tCO₂e over the same span (down 18%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 100 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: 100 is the top of the scale. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 100 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. Waterbend's 23.1 kBtu/ft² across 255,094 sq ft works out to about 5.9 billion Btu (1,727 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 41.7 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 582,559 kWh of electricity and 25,822 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Waterbend to report its energy use?

Waterbend 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:5431A/041:2025). San Francisco's ordinance requires annual benchmarking for commercial buildings over 10,000 sq ft, with administrative penalties for buildings that fail to report.