The eco-friendly school of a tiny village in the prefecture of Xanthi , Thrace, is pioneering new methods to keep students warm in the winter drawing heat energy from surrounding hot water springs.

Barely 60m2, the high school in the Pomak Muslim minority village of Thermes, near the Greek-Bulgarian border, taps into the geothermic (or geothermanl) energy of nearby hot springs via a plastic pipe – like the ones used in greenhouses – and a pump which keeps the water in constant motion.

The warmth is then circulated into the school’s four rooms through aerotherms. Made entirely of local tree trunks, the school building retains its warmth and integrates aesthetically with the surrounding landscape. The project was completed under the auspices of the National Agricultural Research Institute (NAGREF) earlier in the year.

“This method is widely used abroad, especially in the US. Greece unfortunately has yet to exploit its geothermal resources,” says Thessaloniki-based institute researcher Pandelis Dalambakis, whose wife also happens to be the school’s deputy principle.

The geothermal (meaning “heat from the earth), method exploits the heat that flows from the earth's hot interior to the surface. A telling example of the geothermal potential can be found in Iceland's capital Reykjavik , where a municipal heating project distributes geothermal fluid through 200 miles of pipeline throughout the city, covering over 80% of the central heating needs of Reykjavik.

Year-round benefits
In keeping with its eco-friendly profile, the school is also electrically powered by solar panels fitted on its roof. “This also helps energy conservation,” says Dalambakis, adding that the earth can act as an energy source through water, which absorbs the land’s geothermal energy. “The energy is then distributed through heat pumps. It’s a technology new to Greece but broadly practised abroad,” the researcher adds.

Geothermal heat pumps (GHP) enable geothermal resources to be used economically. In addition, heat pumps can be used for summer cooling besides supplying hot water year-round. Water-to-air heat pumps exchange heat with either ground or surface water passed through cooling towers.

Enthusiasts say GHPs can cut from one to five kilowatts of peak generating capacity required for individual homes. Remarkably efficient, geothermal energy from nearby hot springs leads to an 80% decrease in energy consumption and a significant reduction in the consumption of fossil fuels.

Costing NAGREF the token sum of 4,000 euros for construction materials, the project may serve as a role model for future projects throughout the country. Remotely situated and relatively poor, the village could also benefit from the project’s success with renewed investment in alternative energy sources, not to mention a pollution-free environment.

“The surrounding area is dotted with hot springs gushing water with a surface temperature between 45 and 52 degrees Celsius,” Dalambakis says. The energy potential of the hot springs was first noticed by a group of visiting NAGREF researchers last year. “This was a place where locals would take their goats and sheep to benefit from the springs’ therapeutic properties. So we decided to connect to the school.”

Beneficial to skin conditions and different forms of rheumatism, the springs are rich in carbon dioxide and sodium. “These springs could provide energy to the entire village,” Dalambakis notes. The current system provides 7,500 Kilowatts per hour.