Good Shepherd Church in Decorah Offsets High Gas Energy Bills with Solar Power and Heat Pumps

Is it possible for a small Midwestern Lutheran congregation to go from eight natural gas furnaces to eight heat pumps and create all needed energy, via solar, needed to run them in only 4 years? It is possible, and it’s happening right now!

The Good Shepherd Carbon Neutral Project has replaced the fossil fuel HVAC system with four geothermal heat pumps, three air-to-air heat pumps, and a mini-split unit. It can heat/air condition the entire facility using solar electricity, all created onsite. LED lighting throughout the whole campus also reduces the overall electrical needs. Other efforts by the congregation to lower their Carbon Footprint include planting over 20 trees in the campus greenspace and considering adding a prairie wildflower/pollinator garden.

 

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Posted: August 8, 2023

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Paul Cutting

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