598 Columbia Ave

How does 598 Columbia 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. 598 Columbia Ave's ENERGY STAR score of 100 compares with an average of 86 across the 435 that report a score; it scores higher than 75% of them. Its site EUI of 31.9 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 35.3 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.

At 41,553 sq ft, it is about 74% below the average floor area of 157,540 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1999, 12 years later 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 598 Columbia Ave's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 7 San José disclosures for 598 Columbia Ave, covering report years 2018–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 94 in 2019 to 100 in 2024 (+6 points). Site EUI moved from 45.9 kBtu/ft² (2019) to 31.9 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 31% decrease. Reported emissions went from 110 tCO₂e to 79 tCO₂e over the same span (down 28%).

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 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. 598 Columbia Ave's 31.9 kBtu/ft² across 41,553 sq ft works out to about 1.3 billion Btu (388 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 61.3 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 193,637 kWh of electricity, 6,636 therms of natural gas and 3,033 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires 598 Columbia Ave to report its energy use?

598 Columbia 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:1025-0-00:2024). San José's BPO requires buildings over 20,000 sq ft to benchmark annually and complete beyond-benchmarking performance improvements on a rolling schedule.