This is a vote on annexation, not the site plan. But note that the developer has agreed to full project electrification--no natural gas. Instead it will install a VRF (variable refrigerant flow) system. This has a central heat pump plant feeding secondary systems serving the individual apartments. Air source heat pumps expose a channeled refrigerant to external air, compressing the refrigerant and raising its temperature. (For air conditioning, reverse the flow.) Modern VRF systems are now fully capable of heating large buildings in Michigan winters. Going forward, all new construction in Ann Arbor should employ heat pumps, not natural gas. This was in the city's 2012 climate action plan. and it's in A2Zero. Yet we continue to build using fossil fuel infrastructure. The Valhalla plan, whether it's approved or not, sets an important precedent: Full electrification is feasible. We need an ordinance mandating this. Many cities (i.e., San Jose, Berkeley, Brookline) have passed such laws.
This is a vote on annexation, not the site plan. But note that the developer has agreed to full project electrification--no natural gas. Instead it will install a VRF (variable refrigerant flow) system. This has a central heat pump plant feeding secondary systems serving the individual apartments. Air source heat pumps expose a channeled refrigerant to external air, compressing the refrigerant and raising its temperature. (For air conditioning, reverse the flow.) Modern VRF systems are now fully capable of heating large buildings in Michigan winters. Going forward, all new construction in Ann Arbor should employ heat pumps, not natural gas. This was in the city's 2012 climate action plan. and it's in A2Zero. Yet we continue to build using fossil fuel infrastructure. The Valhalla plan, whether it's approved or not, sets an important precedent: Full electrification is feasible. We need an ordinance mandating this. Many cities (i.e., San Jose, Berkeley, Brookline) have passed such laws.