Fossil Fuel Freer on the Roof
- Genesis of Ann Arbor
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Genesis took a giant leap forward toward our goal of carbon neutrality last month.
In July, Genesis staff oversaw the installation of both a new heat pump Roof Top Unit (RTU) and a new array of solar panels to augment our existing 64kW array of solar panels, which Genesis also purchased this year from Eastover Power.
Eastover Power LLC is a venture originally established in 2019 by several of our congregants to take advantage of significant tax credits then available for the installation of carbon emissions reducing systems.
Between the new 41kW solar array and the new 25-ton air-source heat pump RTU, Genesis anticipates lowering our utility costs by up to $17,000 during the next fiscal year alone.
Genesis projects that all our solar panels combined will generate 108 MWh of energy annually and will will save over $300,000 in utilities costs over their 20-year lifespans.
Our first large heat pump RTU replaces our biggest gas appliance, RTU-2, one of 5 RTUs that heat and cool our building. It is a hybrid model in Trane's Precedent line which integrates a natural gas backup system for extremely cold (<0ºF) winter days when the heat pump system may be inadequate to meet the building's heating needs, according to our HVAC vendor, Robertson Morrison. For AC, the Trane unit will consume far less electricity than the Carrier unit it replaces.
“We have a way to go toward achieving carbon neutrality, including [replacing] 4 remaining gas-powered RTUs and other appliances. However, we now have a roadmap to get there, while continuing to lower our operational costs,” remarked Jim Downward for the building committee at the 2025 annual meeting.
photos & video footage courtesy of Steven Kurz
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