5500 Camden Ave

How does 5500 Camden Ave compare with other multifamily housing buildings in San José?

The latest disclosures cover 476 multifamily housing buildings in San José, out of 1,790 buildings citywide. 5500 Camden Ave's ENERGY STAR score of 56 compares with an average of 86 across the 435 that report a score; it scores higher than 7% of them and lower than 92%. Its site EUI of 44.9 kBtu/ft² is about 27% above the average of 35.3 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.

At 29,358 sq ft, it is about 81% below the average floor area of 157,540 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1974, 13 years earlier than the group's average year built (1987). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 59,945 multifamily housing buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 70 and a site EUI of 59.0 kBtu/ft².

How has 5500 Camden Ave's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 6 San José disclosures for 5500 Camden Ave, covering report years 2019–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 44 in 2020 to 56 in 2024 (+12 points). Site EUI moved from 47.2 kBtu/ft² (2020) to 44.9 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 5% decrease. Reported emissions went from 85 tCO₂e to 76 tCO₂e over the same span (down 10%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 56 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 56 means the building performs better than about 56% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 56 falls in band C — below median (55–69). It sits 19 points below 75, the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification. 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. 5500 Camden Ave's 44.9 kBtu/ft² across 29,358 sq ft works out to about 1.3 billion Btu (386 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 75.0 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 137,137 kWh of electricity, 8,491 therms of natural gas and 1,724 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires 5500 Camden Ave to report its energy use?

5500 Camden 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:1860-0-00:2024). San José's BPO requires buildings over 20,000 sq ft to benchmark annually and complete beyond-benchmarking performance improvements on a rolling schedule.