303 Almaden Blvd

How does 303 Almaden Blvd compare with other office buildings in San José?

The latest disclosures cover 408 office buildings in San José, out of 1,790 buildings citywide. 303 Almaden Blvd's ENERGY STAR score of 79 compares with an average of 67 across the 283 that report a score; it scores higher than 51% of them and lower than 48%. Its site EUI of 63.4 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 64.9 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.

At 166,361 sq ft, it is about 74% above the average floor area of 95,555 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1994, 8 years later 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 303 Almaden Blvd's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 7 San José disclosures for 303 Almaden Blvd, covering report years 2018–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 77 in 2018 to 79 in 2024 (+2 points). Site EUI moved from 69.6 kBtu/ft² (2018) to 63.4 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 9% decrease. Reported emissions went from 622 tCO₂e to 657 tCO₂e over the same span (up 6%).

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 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. 303 Almaden Blvd's 63.4 kBtu/ft² across 166,361 sq ft works out to about 10.5 billion Btu (3,091 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 143.2 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 2,135,385 kWh of electricity, 32,651 therms of natural gas and 2,255 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires 303 Almaden Blvd to report its energy use?

303 Almaden Blvd 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:1027-0-00:2024). San José's BPO requires buildings over 20,000 sq ft to benchmark annually and complete beyond-benchmarking performance improvements on a rolling schedule.