Residential Test Facility (RTF)

The Residential Test Facility (RTF) is a unique laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in Gaithersburg, Md. This facility, operated by the Energy and Environment Division in NIST's Engineering Laboratory, that serves as a testbed for enabling the design and operation of cost-effective residential building systems that deliver healthy and comfortable indoor environments.

During the first year of operation, NIST researchers will simulate a family of four living in an energy efficient home and monitor how the house performs. The goal is to demonstrate that a net-zero energy house—one that produces as much energy as it consumes over the course of a year—can fit into any neighborhood. Following the year-long experiment, the facility will be used to test existing and new energy efficient technologies and develop methods of test that better reflect how those technologies will perform in a real home, rather than a laboratory.