When residents of Westwood, a low-income neighborhood in Denver, were asked what would help them the most, the answer was simple: Help us lower our utility bills.
Engineering students at Metro State University took up that challenge. They designed a furnace that uses recycled materials, is solar powered and costs less than $50 to build — and pennies a day to run.
From the Here & Now Contributors Network, Jenny Brundin of Colorado Public Radio found out how the design is working.
Reporter
- Jenny Brundin, education reporter for Colorado Public Radio. She tweets @CPRBrundin.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
![Metro State University students Zyola Mix and Richard Anderson stand with professor Aaron Brown next to solar furnace. (Jessica Taves/Metro State University)](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1915f37/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1280x853+0+0/resize/880x586!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wbur.org%2Fwordpress%2F11%2Ffiles%2F2014%2F03%2F0306_solar-furnace1.jpg)
![Metro State University students designed an inexpensive solar furnace to help heat homes in Denver's low-income Westwood neighborhood. (Jessica Taves/Metro State University)](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c425e28/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1280x853+0+0/resize/880x586!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wbur.org%2Fwordpress%2F11%2Ffiles%2F2014%2F03%2F0306_solar-furnace2.jpg)
![Metro State University students designed an inexpensive solar furnace to help heat homes in Denver's low-income Westwood neighborhood. (Jessica Taves/Metro State University)](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8d5dfa4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1280x853+0+0/resize/880x586!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wbur.org%2Fwordpress%2F11%2Ffiles%2F2014%2F03%2F0306_solar-furnace5.jpg)