PRODUCT

ZERO-0 ENERGY UNIT - PRODUCT CONCEPT

Description

The Zero-0 Energy Unit was developed in the U.S. by Zeroth Systems Inc., a venture-backed company founded by Octave Perrault that operated between 2022 and 2024. The Zero-0 Energy Unit is not currently offered for sale.

Zero-0 is a prefabricated Energy Unit built around an air-to-water heat pump coupled to large water-based thermal storage, electrical storage, ambient-energy collection and predictive controls.

Zero-0 seeks energy when it is cheap and abundant—in the air, on the grid or from the sun—stores it, then supplies heating and cooling to the building when required, like a normal heat pump. Together, these system dynamics can deliver geothermal efficiency without digging in most climates.

The system’s specificity lies in concentrating large thermal inertia within the technical system rather than the architecture. It translates principles used by vernacular architecture and earthships into a compact, plug-and-play, highly controllable product, without requiring comparable quantities of material.

Installation cost and complexity are two of the main obstacles to deploying advanced HVAC systems. Zero-0 moves this work into a factory-built product that is transported empty and filled with water on site, then placed away from the building or immediately along a facade. The integrated storage gives each machine a much wider capacity range, allowing the same unit to serve more building types and adapt as demand and climate change—without increasing project-specific engineering requirements.

The Core model uses ambient and grid energy; the Solar model is the same unit clad with solar panels, which greatly improves efficiency and introduces significant periods of off-grid operation.

Specifications

SPECIFICATIONMEDIUMLARGE
INTENDED APPLICATIONRESIDENTIAL / DESIGN LOADS AROUND 10 KWLARGE RESIDENTIAL / LIGHT COMMERCIAL
THERMAL STORAGEUP TO 44 KWH THERMAL / 1,500 LUP TO 87 KWH THERMAL / 3,000 L
ELECTRICAL STORAGEUP TO 10 KWHUP TO 30 KWH
DIMENSIONS · L × W × H3.0 × 1.2 × 2.4 M6.0 × 1.2 × 2.4 M
REFRIGERANTR290R290
ConfigurationCORE OR SOLARCORE OR SOLAR

Architectural integration

Energy Unit beside a glazed single-storey house
RESIDENTIAL / EXTERNAL INSTALLATION / DESIGN STUDY
Energy Unit integrated into a single-storey house facade at dusk
RESIDENTIAL / FACADE INTEGRATION / DESIGN STUDY
Energy Units installed along industrial building facades
LIGHT INDUSTRIAL / EXTERNAL INSTALLATION / DESIGN STUDY
Energy Unit integrated along the facade of an urban office building
OFFICE / FACADE INTEGRATION / DESIGN STUDY
BUILT PROTOTYPE / SIMULATIONS / PATENT / 2022–2024VIEW THE PROJECT →