Heating modernisation for the public institutions of Létavértes: heat energy from thermal water
About this good practice
During the heating season of the last few years, the municipality has also shown serious signs of energy dependency, so Létavértes decided to establish municipal district heating based on geothermal energy.
The thermal water well is located on the premises of the Primary School owned by the Municipality. The choice of the project site was based on the energy use of municipal property. The investment serves:
heating needs of about 10 buildings using geothermal energy;
significant reduction in monthly expenditure of up to 50%;
geothermal district heating for educational, cultural, office and other public service buildings;
the geothermal project, launched in 2019 and completed in 2020, includes the establishment of a 1,300-metre deep production well with an outlet water temperature of 64°C and a 1,400-metre deep reinjection well. The water return temperature before reinjection is about 38-42°C;
the geothermal system currently provides heating for public buildings for the “Léta” part of town;
further developments include the extension of the system towards the “Vértes” part of the town of Létavértes;
in addition, Létavértes is home to one of the largest commercial solar power plants in the county, with an installed capacity of around 13.45 MW and a maximum capacity of over 16 GWh per year, which is 27% more than the annual electricity consumption of the town.
Resources needed
The investment was financed by EU sources and the Hungarian government using 615 million HUF.
Evidence of success
After the investment, the smaller school building had no gas consumption at all. The kindergarten, which has a total area of 2,000 square metres, 12 classrooms, a gym and a kitchen, used around 20,000 cubic metres of gas per year, compared to around 1,000 cubic metres from January to June 2021. The main school building, with a swimming pool and gymnasium of 4,800 square metres, consumed less than 4,000 cubic metres of gas, whereas its annual consumption was previously almost 60,000 cubic metres.
Potential for learning or transfer
For areas having adequate thermal water asset, the system could completely replace gas consumption.
About 30 percent of the thermal water brought to the surface by the pumps is dissolved gas, much of which can be burned. That's why a degassing tank was built at the production well. If the dissolved gas is burned in a boiler, it is possible to increase the forward temperature by a further 6-10 degrees and to use the thermal water directly for heating the pool. The latter will result in even lower gas consumption.
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.