Net-Zero and Beyond! Design and Performance of NIST’s Net-Zero Energy Residential Test Facility

Published

May 15, 2015

Author(s)

Arthur H. Fanney, William V. Payne, Tania Ullah, Lisa C. Ng, Matthew T. Boyd, Farhad Omar, Mark W. Davis, Harrison M. Skye, Brian P. Dougherty, Brian J. Polidoro, William M. Healy, Joshua D. Kneifel, Betsy Pettit

Abstract

A Net-Zero Energy Residential Test Facility has been constructed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The facility is being used to demonstrate that a home similar in size, aesthetics, and amenities to those in the surrounding communities can generate as much energy as it consumes on an annual basis while meeting the needs of a family of four. The facility will subsequently serve as a test bed to facilitate the development and improvement of methods of test and performance metrics for existing and future energy efficient technologies. This paper describes the facility, the virtual family that resides in the facility, the instrumentation, and presents performance data.

Citation

Energy and Buildings

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

Net-Zero Energy Residential Test Facility, net-zero, net-zero energy houses, energy, energy efficiency, thermal envelope, solar photovoltaic system, solar, indoor air quality, radiant heat, ground source heat exchangers, sensible and latent loads.

Citation

Fanney, A. , Payne, W. , Ullah, T. , Ng, L. , Boyd, M. , Omar, F. , Davis, M. , Skye, H. , Dougherty, B. , Polidoro, B. , Healy, W. , Kneifel, J. and Pettit, B. (2015), Net-Zero and Beyond! Design and Performance of NIST’s Net-Zero Energy Residential Test Facility, Energy and Buildings, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=916099 (Accessed October 24, 2025)