SAN FRANCISCO, CA · ENERGY
Commercial energy audits in San Francisco.
We run commercial energy audits in San Francisco for owners and property managers who need ordinance-ready findings and a ranked list of measures the building can actually fund.
Find the waste before you buy the upgrade.
Most commercial buildings are paying for energy they never use. A proper commercial energy audit puts numbers on it: where the waste is, what the fix costs, and what it returns. From there, efficiency consultants sequence the upgrades so the cheap wins pay for the big ones.
The audit also tells you when the answer is bigger than efficiency. High demand charges point at battery storage; aging equipment points at a mechanical replacement that pays back in utility savings. Either way, you decide with real numbers on the table.
START HERE
What an energy audit finds in a San Francisco building
A commercial energy audit in San Francisco is a site study of how your building actually uses energy, plus a written list of measures ranked by cost and savings. We walk the mechanical rooms, meter rooms, and tenant floors, read the control sequences, and pull the utility history behind them. An audit earns its fee when a local energy performance ordinance requires one, or when the energy budget keeps climbing and no one can name the system driving it. We measure first and recommend second, so the report points at equipment you own instead of a generic list.
Confirm which San Francisco ordinance applies before scoping the audit
San Francisco has its own Existing Commercial Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance, and California's benchmarking program requires owners of large commercial and multifamily buildings to report energy use. Other California cities and counties have gone further and made building energy audits mandatory, and the specific requirements and deadlines vary by jurisdiction. So the first thing we confirm is the exact address and which jurisdiction reviews it.
Audit scope checks
What we check during a commercial energy audit in San Francisco
Billed energy history against meter layout
BASELINE
We map billed electric and gas history to meters and tenant spaces. That sets the energy use intensity baseline and tells you whether a saving can even be tracked after a measure goes in.
HVAC control sequences in operation
CONTROLS
We read the sequences at the head end and watch equipment respond: schedules, setpoints, economizer position, simultaneous heating and cooling. Control faults are where no-cost and low-cost measures live, and weak audits miss them.
Prior audit reports and what was installed
HISTORY
We ask for earlier reports and proof of which recommended measures actually went in. If they were installed, remaining savings are thinner, and that changes whether a deeper audit is worth buying.
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager record
FILING
We check whether the property record is set up and current, including floor area and tenant meter data. Gaps there stall the benchmarking filing before any audit finding matters.
Committed capital and budget window
BUDGET
We ask what capital is already committed and when it releases. Efficiency budgets are limited, so we rank findings against money that exists rather than a wish list.
PROJECT PLANNING
Turning San Francisco energy audit findings into funded work
Measures ranked, not just listed
REPORT
Each measure gets a scope, an estimated cost, and an estimated saving, so you can sort by payback instead of by whoever asked loudest. Measures that miss your threshold stay in the report for the next budget cycle.
Permit path for the retrofit
PERMITS
Mechanical, electrical, and envelope measures need a permit. The Department of Building Inspection reviews every San Francisco building permit application for life safety and building code compliance, and applications go through the city permitting portal.
Second jurisdiction check
PORTFOLIO
If your portfolio crosses that line, the retrofit schedule has to allow for two separate review counters.
Baseline kept for verification
VERIFY
We keep the audit baseline so post-install energy use can be compared against it. Without that baseline, a savings claim after the retrofit cannot be checked.
WHAT WE HANDLE
Everything under the energy door.
MANAGEMENT
Choosing an audit level
How to pick the right energy audit level for your San Francisco building
- Confirm the audit level your local ordinance accepts before you buy, because requirements and deadlines vary by jurisdiction.
- Start with a walk-through audit when you mainly need easy operating adjustments and a short list of candidate measures.
- Step up to a full energy survey and analysis when you need measure-by-measure cost and savings estimates for a capital request.
- Order an investment-grade audit only when one high-capital measure is already on the table; it is targeted, built on the earlier audit findings, and backed by building energy modeling.
- Match the level to the decision you need to make, since building size, system complexity, and audit detail are what move the fee.
BEFORE YOU BUY
Documents to have ready for a San Francisco commercial energy audit
- Electric and gas bills for the whole property, including tenant-metered accounts you do not pay directly.
- The ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager property record and login, if the building is already benchmarked.
- Equipment list for chillers, boilers, rooftop units, and the building automation system, with nameplate data where you have it.
- As-built mechanical and electrical drawings, plus the sequence of operations from the last controls upgrade.
- Operating hours by tenant and space type, including nights, weekends, and any process loads.
- Prior energy audit reports and records showing which recommended measures were installed.
Project in San Francisco?
Tell us the building, exact scope, and target date. Flux will review the request and send the next step.
QUESTIONS
Straight answers.
Is a commercial energy audit required for my San Francisco building?
It depends on the property. California's benchmarking program requires owners of large commercial and multifamily buildings to report energy use, and San Francisco has its own Existing Commercial Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance. We confirm what your address triggers before we quote.
What does a commercial energy audit cost in San Francisco?
Cost tracks building size, system complexity, and how detailed the audit level is. We price after we see the equipment list and utility history, so the fee matches the decision the report has to support.
We already had an energy audit. Should we run another one?
Ask first which recommended measures were actually installed. If they went in, the building may already be efficient and remaining savings are thinner. If they did not, a walk-through usually reopens the same low-cost fixes, often in HVAC controls.
Will the measures from our audit need a San Francisco building permit?
Mechanical, electrical, and envelope retrofits do. The Department of Building Inspection reviews every building permit application for life safety and building code compliance, and San Francisco offers an online permitting portal for applications.
GET STARTED
Find the waste in your building.
The audit is free to scope, and most audits find their fee several times over. Tell us about the building and we'll price yours.
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