The Department of Power and Energy Engineering was formerly known as School of Power & Energy Engineering and it was originally founded in 1956. 

Its main research fields include: clean energy conversion and utilization, simulation and optimization of thermal system, combustion and environment protection technology, refrigeration and cryogenics, utilization of solar energy and energy saving in buildings, advanced theory and application of heat exchange, thermo physics of multi-phase combustion of coal, and assembly and control of automobile power.

The Key Laboratory of Power Machinery and Engineering of Ministry of Education and the Key Engineering Research Center of Solar Energy and Refrigeration of Ministry of Education were founded in 2001.