A 2,700 square foot home built on the campus of a national technology testing site in Gaithersburg will be used by government scientists and engineers as a test-bed to develop ways to measure products, materials and systems that make a house energy efficient and green, according to a report by CNN.

The home, called the Net-Zero Energy Residential Test Facility, aims to prove an attractive home for a family of four can produce as much energy as it consumes.

"What we wanted to do was show that it's possible to do in homes typical in size, with the aesthetics and features of a home in a metropolitan area," A. Hunter Fanney, chief of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Energy and Environment Division, said according to the report.

Some of the home's energy efficient features include, according to CNN:

• Photovoltaic panels on the upper roof to convert sunlight to electricity
• Solar thermal panels on a lower roof to heat water
• Three types of geothermal systems use ground temperatures to heat the house in the winter or cool it in the summer
• Radiant heating embedded in the floors
• Conventional and high velocity duct systems to distribute air

The home, to date, has cost approximately $2.5 million using federal stimulus money and a "virtual family" simulates the impact of real people living in the house.

For more information on the Net-Zero Energy Residential Test Facility, read the full report on CNN.com.