This innovation has improved the air quality in Sokobanja by replacing the inefficient and polluting single boiler room in the school complex. The boiler room that heats the premises of the primary school “Mitropolit Mihailo” and the secondary school “Branislav Nušić” was replaced by a cleaner alternative – a system that utilises thermal water, a renewable energy source. The old boiler was replaced by a heat pump that works on the water-to-water principle and utilises the waste thermal water from the spa resort. The innovative nature of the project is reflected in the use of the “waste” water from the spa resort, with the temperature of which is high enough to heat the buildings.
Impact achieved

4,789.8 t CO2 eq
GHG emission reduction over 20 years
O

PM 2.5: 0.18
PM 10: 0.20
Reduced quantities of air pollutants
Value
No Data Found
Location
The Municipality of Sokobanja’s idea to replace a coal fired boiler room heating two local schools with a geothermal heat pump is among the 16 innovative solutions to accelerate the green transition of the economy and society that were awarded European Union financial support within the ‘EU for Green Agenda in Serbia’ initiative.

Sokobanja, 29 February 2024 – With the support of the European Union and the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Municipality of Sokobanja replaced the old coal boiler in the common premises of two local schools with a heating system using waste geothermal water from the spa complex. The transition to this renewable source of energy has substantially improved the quality of air for both the school children and all the citizens and visitors of this famous spa resort. The concentrations of toxic gases, including carbon-dioxide and carbon-monoxide, as well as of the PM 2.5 and PM 10 suspended particles have been particularly reduced.
