655 Richmond Ave

How does 655 Richmond 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. 655 Richmond 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 19.1 kBtu/ft² is about half of the average of 35.3 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.

At 40,950 sq ft, it is about 74% below the average floor area of 157,540 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2001, 14 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 655 Richmond Ave's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 6 San José disclosures for 655 Richmond Ave, covering report years 2019–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 92 in 2019 to 100 in 2024 (+8 points); its best year on file was 2023, at 100. Site EUI moved from 35.1 kBtu/ft² (2019) to 19.1 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 46% decrease. Reported emissions went from 78 tCO₂e to 52 tCO₂e over the same span (down 34%).

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. 655 Richmond Ave's 19.1 kBtu/ft² across 40,950 sq ft works out to about 0.8 billion Btu (229 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 53.6 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 229,677 kWh of electricity, 2 therms of natural gas and 1,675 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires 655 Richmond Ave to report its energy use?

655 Richmond 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:1118-0-00:2024). San José's BPO requires buildings over 20,000 sq ft to benchmark annually and complete beyond-benchmarking performance improvements on a rolling schedule.