December 23, 2010
Work is under way on the South Oval where the wells will be drilled. The switch to semesters will make cooling dorms a priority, an official said.
Ohio State University plans to drill 550 feet beneath campus to tap Earth's temperature to heat and cool five dormitories.
The university will drill 450 geothermal wells in the South Oval and the parking lot next to Hale Hall. The system will regulate the temperatures in Park, Siebert, Smith, Steeb and Stradley halls, all located between 11th and 12th avenues, as well as two new 11-story buildings that also will have dorm rooms.
"It will be one big system," said Scott Conlon, director of projects for Facilities Design and Construction.
The five dormitories, built in the 1950s, do not have air conditioning. Providing them with a cooling system has become a priority as the switch from quarters to semesters approaches in 2012, Conlon said.
"Students will be moving in in the third week of August - instead of the third week of September - when the temperature in the upper reaches of the high-rises would be unbearable."
The well field will be part of a closed-loop geothermal system that will circulate water. Earth's temperature at 550 feet deep stays between 55 and 60 degrees year-round, said Joseph Ortiz, an associate professor of geology at Kent State University.
Using a heat exchanger, the system pulls the warmth from the ground to heat the buildings on cold days; it removes heat from the buildings and transfers it into the ground on warm ones, Ortiz said.
The system will cost $4 million but will save Ohio State money in the long run, Conlon said. It will use 34 percent less energy than the natural-gas system at a savings of $200,000 a year, which will help the university recoup its investment in 12 1/2 years.
The wells also will help warm tap water.
"The system heats up domestic water that comes from the taps halfway for free, and then we'll use gas to heat it up the rest of the way," Conlon said. "This will also save money because the cost of heating the water supply will be lower."
The central cooling and heating plant for the well system will be in the basement of a soon-to-be-constructed 11-story building between Stradley and Park halls that also will contain dorm rooms. The geothermal system is part of a $170 million project to renovate dorms and build the two towers.
Contractors already dug the space for the plant. They are to begin drilling in the South Oval soon. Hale Hall's parking lot, which will become green space, will be drilled last.
"Using geothermal wells was by far the most cost-effective measure compared to others we considered, like solar panels and wind turbines," Conlon said. "Geothermal wells work well in open spaces, and they won't be visually obstructive."
The wells are not Ohio State's first. The Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, on the north side of campus, was built two years ago with a 70-well system.
"In general, it has worked beyond our expectations," Conlon said.
Erin Wingfield, director of development of 4-H Youth Development, said her office is comfortable.
"It feels nice and cool during the summer, and it doesn't feel as dry as other buildings during the winter," she said. "It's plenty warm. The difference is when you enter the building, you warm gradually because you don't get that blast of heat on you."
Geothermal wells are eco friendly since there is no emissions or fossil fuels burned. Heating, cooling and hot water at a fraction of the cost of fossil fuels.
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