Hard rock hampers Ohio State University project to use underground wells to help with heating

9/21/2011

COLUMBUS — Hard rock having nothing to do with students' musical tastes is hampering an Ohio State University project to dig wells to help with heating and cooling.

The Columbus Dispatch reports the shale beneath the Columbus campus is proving tougher to bore through than officials expected.

University Associate Vice President Mary Lynn Readey says the school still expects the system will be contributing to climate control in several dormitories within two years. But she says it will take longer than anticipated to restore a dug-up area of the South Oval.

The geothermal wells will allow the university to draw warmth from the ground to help heat buildings during cold weather. In warm weather, heat is pulled from the buildings to be cooled underground, where temperatures are always around 60 degrees.