Canadian Centre for Housing Technology

Research facility highlights

Jointly operated by the National Research Council (NRC), Natural Resources Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Canadian Centre for Housing Technology CCHT) was designed to provide manufacturers and product developers with a real-world test environment for assessing innovative technologies prior to full field trials in occupied houses.

What we offer

Located on a six-acre site at the NRC campus in Ottawa, CCHT offers:

• fully monitored, twin research houses in a controlled and secure environment;
• access to four serviced lots available to developers and manufacturers for the development and testing of new residential housing energy concepts and technologies;
• the CCHT InfoCentre: a demonstration and technology showcase building.

The facility’s core focus is currently on energy efficiency and particularly energy conversion systems for residential applications. The twin "reference" and "test" houses allow industry to conduct rigorous side-by-side comparisons of new technologies with conventional systems: identifying potential energy savings and rigorously evaluating new technology performance under a variety of conditions.

Why work with us

Using our world-class "house as a system" facility you are able to close the gap between laboratory and field testing in occupied houses. In addition, you benefit from our in-house technical expertise and support, and our commitment to accelerate the development and acceptance of new and innovative residential housing energy technologies – in Canada and around the world.

The result? Working with NRC will help you to accelerate the development and commercialization process—ensuring you are able to move your innovative technologies from conception, to production and finally to market sooner than you thought possible.

Fees

CCHT offers a competitive weekly flat rate (based on a cost-recovery model) for use of the testing facilities. Additional fees may be charged for installation requirements (if not supplied by the manufacturer), as well as additional labour costs for analysis and report writing. Please contact us for more information.