The Office for the Vice Provost of Research has provided the following guidance on physical experimentation at home:

With rare exception, the University cannot approve the use of a private residence for research purposes. Such work at home raises a number of health and safety, and potential building and fire code related concerns. They are subject to routine health and safety inspections and mitigation measures at the university laboratories and cannot be verified in a residential setting. These potential hazards include but are not limited to occupancy rating of the building (e.g. residential vs. research), electrical hazards associated with the use of equipment (e.g. personnel safety, overload of circuitry, etc.), presence of untrained individuals in the research area, etc., none of which will have been assessed by the university.

Remote research using computers for data driven analytics, social behavior type studies that can be conducted by audio/video conferencing, etc. is allowable.

Rare exceptions of at-home experimentation can be approved on a limited basis for SEAS/FAS researchers by SEAS/FAS. This approval is achieved through a thorough process and must meet strict safety requirements. To request home researcher status, access the request form here: https://harvard.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_03wE6rCuPgVRnbT.