Engineering Faculty and Philadelphia Housing Authority Partner on Energy Efficient Housing

May 10, 2010 CAEE assistant professors Drs. Jin Wen and Patrick Gurian and four of their students are working with the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) to research technologies that are most energy efficient for PHA residences.

Since October 2009, the CAEE team has measured the efficiency of solar panels, green roofs and other sustainable methods on PHA properties. The data is then used by PHA almost immediately on current building projects. Among the team’s findings is that solar hot water panels are better than photovoltaics (arrays of cells that convert solar radiation into direct current electricity) for buildings with more than 80 units.

“It is rewarding for our students to see how the data they are collecting is already being used by the PHA to create cost and energy-efficient homes,” said Wen.  “They are applying  knowledge learned in the classroom to make a difference in their communities. “