450 N Capitol Ave

How does 450 N Capitol Ave compare with other retail store buildings in San José?

The latest disclosures cover 81 retail store buildings in San José, out of 1,790 buildings citywide. 450 N Capitol Ave's ENERGY STAR score of 94 compares with an average of 77 across the 67 that report a score; it scores higher than 57% of them and lower than 34%. Its site EUI of 48.3 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 48.4 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.

At 137,143 sq ft, it is about 85% above the average floor area of 74,232 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2002, 12 years later than the group's average year built (1990). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 3,025 retail store buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 73 and a site EUI of 57.7 kBtu/ft².

How has 450 N Capitol Ave's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 7 San José disclosures for 450 N Capitol Ave, covering report years 2018–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 89 in 2018 to 94 in 2024 (+5 points). Site EUI moved from 50.2 kBtu/ft² (2018) to 48.3 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 4% decrease. Reported emissions went from 499 tCO₂e to 419 tCO₂e over the same span (down 16%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 94 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 94 means the building performs better than about 94% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 94 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 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. 450 N Capitol Ave's 48.3 kBtu/ft² across 137,143 sq ft works out to about 6.6 billion Btu (1,941 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 115.5 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 1,488,369 kWh of electricity, 15,439 therms of natural gas and 2,042 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires 450 N Capitol Ave to report its energy use?

450 N Capitol Ave 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:1905-0-00:2024). San José's BPO requires buildings over 20,000 sq ft to benchmark annually and complete beyond-benchmarking performance improvements on a rolling schedule.