This municipality in Serbia uses waste water to heat its schools! How did they come to such a solution

Both the global energy crisis and the increasingly pronounced climate crisis force us to think about how we use resources. Are we frugal enough and do we use the resources that nature has given us in the right way.

Thus, the replacement of the old coal-fired boiler with a new heating system for the school building in Sokobanja completely eliminates the polluting gases and particles released by burning 180 tons of coal per heating season, including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, suspended particles PM 2.5 and PM 10, contributing thus improving air quality and the environment in Sokobanja.

Also, the projected savings are large, we learned in a conversation with the head of the municipality.

EU support

The municipality of Sokobanja received significant funds for these purposes within the EU for the Green Agenda in Serbia project.
Thus, about 6.5 million dinars arrived in Sokobanja from the European Union, while the Ministry of the Environment invested about 16 million dinars in this project.

"Sokobanja abounds in thermo-mineral waters. Of this, hot water of 42 degrees Celsius was used exclusively for medical purposes, and in recent years, due to the rapid development of tourism in Sokobanja, in sports and recreational, wellness and spa centers and hotels," the president of the municipality of Sokobanja says for EUpravo Zato.

He adds that for years there was talk in Sokobanja about the use of thermal water of 42 degrees as a heat source of energy, which became a reality.

"Now, we have finally realized it through the energy rehabilitation project of the school in two phases. The first was the reconstruction of the entire school with energy rehabilitation and reconstruction of the roof, while the second phase, which was completed after five years, was the use of thermal mineral water as a renewable source of energy for heating the school itself." , he explains.

The school is big, it spans 4,500 square meters, and there are about 1,300 users who will benefit from this.

"The first and foremost benefit is saving electricity, because from now on, we will use three times less money to buy firewood, then there are savings on electricity bills that we get for using heat pumps. Another benefit, equally important, is environmental protection, i.e. reducing the presence of pollutants in the air," said Nikolić and added:

"Our elementary school Mitropolit Mihailo and Branislav Nušić high school, which are located in a unique complex, were the second biggest air polluters in the municipality. Now we still have the kindergarten and the municipal building left, and in the coming period, we intend to extend the heat pipe to the kindergarten, which is only 150 metres away from the school building," says Nikolić.

He pointed out that the municipality of Sokobanja could not have realized all this without the support of UNDP, that is, the European Union, as well as the Ministry of the Environment.

"Both the EU in Serbia and the Ministry of the Environment recognized the quality of our project, and it was really not difficult for us to prepare everything that was needed to get those funds and realize all this," says Nikolić.

He adds that the municipality of Sokobanja was commended for the project which qualified as one of the top quality projects in the field of environmental protection.

"We received the charter for the best project, and we were cited as an excellent example to other municipalities, because in Serbia, there are over 350 thermal mineral springs that have much higher water temperatures than Sokobanja," said the president of the Sokobanja municipality.

Novelty in Serbia Otherwise, as he says, the project was not complex as far as the execution of the works itself is concerned.

"But it was one of the novelties in Serbia, so it was complex to do the project design and feasibility study in order to reach the final goal - to calculate how profitable it will be, given that the heat pump system has only recently been used in Serbia, especially for the size of the facility such as the Sokobanja school which spans 4,500 square metres," explained Nikolić and added that it was a big challenge for designers, machinists and technologists who were involved in the development of the project itself.

The heating system became operational in December, and once the next electricity bill arrives, it will become apparent how much money was saved.

As Nikolić said, it was projected that the savings amount ​​will be a third of the total costs so far.

The first ecological municipality in Serbia 30 years ago

By the way, Sokobanja was declared the first ecological municipality in Serbia 30 years ago.

"For this reason, we must constantly strive to maintain this title and justify the epithet of the Green Heart of Serbia anew," Nikolić concluded.

Marija Đurđić, mother of one of the students who attends the 1st grade of the Branislav Nušić High School in Sokobanja, otherwise employed as a teacher in the Bucko kindergarten, spoke for EUpravo Zato about the importance of this project for the end users.
"With this new heating system that uses thermal water, a healthier and more comfortable life is ensured for all our children, both in primary and high school," she said.

According to her, the benefit in general for Sokobanja is great.

"We need to maintain the status of the Green Heart of Serbia. As a teacher at the Bucko preschool, I hope that the kindergarten will soon be connected to this system, because it will make it easier for all of us, it will be more comfortable for us to work and live in the preschool," Đurđić stated.

The EU for the Green Agenda in Serbia project, with the technical and financial support of the European Union and in partnership with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, is implemented by UNDP in cooperation with the Embassy of Sweden and the European Investment Bank (EIB), with additional financial resources provided by the governments of Sweden. Switzerland and Serbia.