IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY USE FOR RECREATION AND BALNEOLOGY: A CASE STUDY OF SPA KREMNICA

Аннотация

In Slovakia, there are 26 areas suitable for extraction of geothermal water. In the existing facilities the energy from geothermal waters is mainly used for agriculture, space heating, recreation and balneology. This case study analyses the energy balance of a spa located in the city of Kremnica. Although the geothermal facility is fully functional, in the present situation a considerable amount of energy is wasted by releasing the used geothermal water directly to the recipient, without fully exploiting its energy potential. We propose a couple of energy efficiency measures to improve the level of exploitation of the geothermal energy. It is shown how these energy efficiency measures can substantially influence the energy expenditures despite the relatively low investment costs.