zero-energy
|ze-ro-en-er-gy|
🇺🇸
/ˌziːroʊˈɛnərdʒi/
🇬🇧
/ˌzɪərəʊˈɛnədʒi/
no net energy
Etymology
'zero-energy' is a modern English compound formed from 'zero' + 'energy'. 'Zero' entered European languages from Arabic 'ṣifr' (via Italian 'zero'), where the root meant 'empty' or 'nothing'. 'Energy' comes from Greek 'energeia' (via Latin and French), where the roots 'en-' meant 'in' and 'ergon' meant 'work' or 'action'.
'zero' passed from Arabic 'ṣifr' into Medieval Latin and Italian (e.g. Italian 'zero'), and then into English as 'zero' in the 16th–17th centuries; 'energy' came from Greek 'energeia' through Latin and Old French into Middle English. The compound 'zero-energy' arose in late 20th-century English within engineering and environmental contexts to describe buildings/systems with no net energy use.
Initially, 'zero' meant 'nothing' and 'energy' 'capacity for work'; the compound originally conveyed the literal idea of 'no energy.' Over time, in sustainability contexts it evolved to mean 'no net energy use' (balance of energy produced and consumed) rather than absolute absence of energy.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a building, system, or project that achieves zero net energy use (often expressed as 'a zero-energy building').
The campus opened its first zero-energy in 2020: a lab that offsets all its energy use with on-site renewables.
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Adjective 1
having no net energy consumption over a defined period (typically a year); producing as much energy on-site as is consumed.
They designed a zero-energy house that generates as much power as it uses over a year.
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Last updated: 2025/10/24 13:13