Solar panels at Davis Community, and other churches, providing lots of electricity
A recently installed array of solar panels on the roof at Davis Community Church is now providing about three-quarters of the electricity used by the congregation, which has a one-block campus across the street from Central Park in downtown Davis. Several other local congregations are also reaping benefits from solar panel arrays that they put up years ago.
According to Ron Rushford, a Davis Community Church member who served on a committee that coordinated the installation of the solar array, there are now 135 solar panels up on the roof — 83 atop the church’s Fellowship Hall and another 52 on the roof of adjacent Phoenix Hall.
The solar panels are a little hard to see because of the trees that provide shade along the western side of the church buildings. However, the rooftop installations on Fellowship Hall and Phoenix Hall are higher than the treetops.
According to Rushford, installing the solar panels involved conferencing with city staff, since the main sanctuary building at Davis Community Church (built in 1926, after the church’s previous building was destroyed by fire) is on the city’s list of historic structures.
“We wanted to make sure it was OK with the city, and they gave us the proper location where the panels should be. It took a little while to get the city’s approval and PG&E’s approval,” Rushford said.
Installing the solar panels involved taking down the old red clay roof tiles in the area where the solar panels would go — the red clay roof tiles were saved and donated to Habitat for Humanity. New (and sturdier) concrete tiles were installed, followed by the 135 solar panels, along with an access route for servicing the rooftop solar panels when necessary.
The solar array came online partway into March and was formally dedicated with a blessing in June. The solar panels at DCC have been generating more electricity with each passing month as the rainy spring weather has given way to blue summer skies with more hours of sunlight.
On average, the solar panels are providing about 75 percent of the electricity used on the campus, “and more than that in summer,” Rushford said.
All told, “We’re saving $2,000 to $2,500 a month” on the electric bill, he continued. He expects that the new solar array will pay for itself in less than 10 years.
Several other local churches have installed solar panels in recent years — church buildings often have a high roof above a spacious sanctuary, providing excellent sun exposure.
Davis United Methodist Church put up a rooftop solar array in 2012, which was dedicated on Earth Day. The church was recognized with an award from the city’s Cool Davis program in 2014. Those panels provide about three-quarters of the electricity used at that site, on average.
The Episcopal Church of St. Martin installed a small array of solar panels nearly 20 years ago and added more in 2015 (including some panels mounted on an overhead metal frame that provides shade in the church’s parking area). The system supplies about 80 percent of the electricity consumed on site.
— by Jeff Hudson
Editor’s Note: According to Andrew Waterhouse, St James Catholic Church installed solar panels in one of its parking lots last year and that produces most of the power for the campus.
Crossposted from the Davis Enterprise
Published online on July 17, 2019 | Printed in the July 17, 2019 edition on page A1




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The reading and discussion of the award winning collection of poems entitled "Swerve" with Ellery Akers was insightful and inspiring. Join Ellery and Poet Laureate of Davis Julia B. Levine for a poetry writing workshop this Sunday. There's still time to join us! City of Davis Arts & Cultural Affairs John Natsoulas Gallery Davis Downtown Davis City #poetryindavis #daviscalifornia #daviscalifornia
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Tonight at 7pm is the time to "Swerve" with Ellery Akers and Julia B. Levine. Still space left! Register here for your Zoom link! Sunday poetry writing workshop still has openings for you to find your connection with nature. #ecopoetry #davisca #daviscalifornia #natsoulasgallery #poetryindavis City of Davis Arts & Cultural Affairs www.cooldavis.org/2022/04/06/swerve-with-poet-ellery-akers/ ... See MoreSee Less

“Swerve” with Poet Ellery Akers: Environmental Poetry Reading and Workshop - Cool Davis
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Join us for two events with Ellery Akers, author of Swerve: Environmentalism, Feminism, and Resistance, and Julia B. Levine, Poet Laureate of the City of Davis, in honor of national poetry month.TWITTER FEED
Join Ellery Akers and Poet Laureate Julia B. Levine for a poetry writing workshop Sunday 4pm. There's still time! @NatsoulasArt @UCDavisNews @CaliforniaAggie @davisartcenter @AtTgif #poetryindavis #daviscalifornia
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Tonight at 7pm "Swerve" with Ellery Akers and Julia B. Levine. Explore the intersection of environmentalism, feminism, and resistance. #ecopoetry #davisca #daviscalifornia #natsoulasgallery #poetryindavis https://www.cooldavis.org/2022/04/06/swerve-with-poet-ellery-akers/