1550 The Alameda

How does 1550 The Alameda compare with other office buildings in San José?

The latest disclosures cover 408 office buildings in San José, out of 1,790 buildings citywide. 1550 The Alameda's ENERGY STAR score of 78 compares with an average of 67 across the 283 that report a score; it scores higher than 49% of them and lower than 49%. Its site EUI of 46.8 kBtu/ft² is about 28% below the average of 64.9 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.

At 151,858 sq ft, it is about 59% above the average floor area of 95,555 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1977, 9 years earlier than the group's average year built (1986). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 15,264 office buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 73 and a site EUI of 59.3 kBtu/ft².

How has 1550 The Alameda's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 7 San José disclosures for 1550 The Alameda, covering report years 2018–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 61 in 2019 to 78 in 2024 (+17 points); its best year on file was 2021, at 82. Site EUI moved from 57.6 kBtu/ft² (2019) to 46.8 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 19% decrease. Reported emissions went from 455 tCO₂e to 442 tCO₂e over the same span (down 3%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 78 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 78 means the building performs better than about 78% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 78 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 José, 69% 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. 1550 The Alameda's 46.8 kBtu/ft² across 151,858 sq ft works out to about 7.1 billion Btu (2,083 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 105.4 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 1,431,237 kWh of electricity, 22,195 therms of natural gas and 3,667 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires 1550 The Alameda to report its energy use?

1550 The Alameda reports under San José Municipal Code Ch. 17.85 (Energy and Water Building Performance Ordinance), the legal basis of San José's Energy and Water Building Performance Ordinance, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2024 disclosure (source record san_jose:0969-0-00:2024). San José's BPO requires buildings over 20,000 sq ft to benchmark annually and complete beyond-benchmarking performance improvements on a rolling schedule.