HouseZero is a data-driven living laboratory to drive a greater understanding of building in real-world use and the headquarters for the Harvard Center For Green Buildings And Cities. The original home was built in Cambridge, Massachusetts before 1940. The building is expected to be net zero, producing more energy in the rest of its lifetime than was consumed to manufacture, transport, and install materials in the 2018 renovation. 

HouseZero does not have a conventional heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system. Its thermal comfort depends on natural ventilation, solar insolation, thermally active building systems, and geothermal wells, which are driven by computational control of pumps, valves, motors, and a heat pump. Sensors inside and outside the building, such as CO2 concentration sensors, occupancy sensors, wind speed sensors, relative humidity sensors, and thermometers measuring interior and exterior temperature, are integrated with actuators controlling window motors and heat pumps. 

The lab inside HouseZero allows researchers to study and test learning algorithms in the building with a single zone, multiple zones, or the entire building. A hybrid physical and virtual testbed supports algorithm testing before deploying it in the physical building. 

The HouseZero research team seeks commercial partners to advance the technology on a larger scale.