Energy performance designed in from the start.
At Soleta, energy performance begins with the building envelope: insulation, airtightness, glazing strategy, and orientation. Renewable systems are added on top of a highly efficient base. This order matters: a poorly insulated home with solar panels is still a poorly insulated home.
Envelope, insulation and airtightness
A Soleta ZeroEnergy wall achieves a U-value of 0.15 W/m²K with 35 cm of natural wood fibre insulation. The roof reaches 0.12 W/m²K. Airtightness is tested on completion: n₅₀ ≤ 0.6 h⁻¹, equivalent to the Passive House standard. This level of envelope performance reduces heating demand to a point where modest renewable systems can cover the remainder.
Glazing, shading and passive solar
Glazing is oriented and sized deliberately. South-facing glazing captures winter solar gain; summer shading is handled through roof overhangs, external blinds, or pergolas with deciduous planting, preventing overheating. The glazing strategy is calibrated for each site: latitude, the surrounding landscape, and the client's programme all influence the right balance. Triple-glazed units with Uw ≤ 0.8 W/m²K are standard across all configurations.
Ventilation and indoor comfort
Airtight buildings require controlled ventilation. We specify mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) as standard for all ZeroEnergy configurations. Incoming fresh air is preheated by outgoing exhaust air, at an efficiency above 90%. The system maintains air quality and eliminates condensation without energy penalty — and without the draughts and noise of simple ventilators.
A Soleta home reduces its energy demand through the quality of its envelope — insulation, airtightness, glazing orientation — before any renewable system is sized. This order produces homes that perform consistently, regardless of how the energy context changes over the building's lifetime.
What ZeroEnergy means in practice
A ZeroEnergy home combines a highly insulated, airtight building envelope that minimises demand with renewable energy systems sized to cover that demand. The Soleta system achieves this through natural insulation, triple-glazed windows, heat-recovery ventilation, and a renewable energy package adapted to the site. Performance values reflect modelled typical conditions; actual results vary according to location, use, and occupant behaviour.
Choose your level of independence
Standard
Energy class A+All Soleta homes, both standard and the ZeroEnergy option, achieve Energy Class A+ as standard. High-performance envelope, natural insulation, triple glazing. Annual heating demand below 30 kWh/m² in Central European conditions.
Included as standardZeroEnergy
Near-zero or zero net energySolar photovoltaic system, solar thermal or geothermal heating, heat recovery ventilation with bypass. Net annual energy import: near-zero or zero, depending on site solar yield and consumption profile.
Request a Private Consultation →Off-Grid
Designed for grid independenceBattery storage, backup generation, water harvesting and treatment. Designed for remote sites with unreliable or absent grid connection. Performance depends on site resource availability.
Request a Private Consultation →How ZeroEnergy works
Solar photovoltaic
Roof-integrated or ground-mounted PV system, sized according to the home's modelled annual consumption. Excess production is fed to the grid or stored in batteries. Yield depends on roof orientation and local solar irradiance.
Geothermal heating
Ground-source heat pump using the stable ground temperature (typically 8–12°C in Central and Northern Europe) as a heat source. COP of 4–5 under design conditions — meaning four to five units of heat for every unit of electricity consumed.
Solar thermal
Roof-mounted solar collectors for domestic hot water and heating support. They reduce the heat pump load in spring and autumn. They are most effective at latitudes with consistent spring and autumn sun.
Heat recovery ventilation
Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) — incoming fresh air is preheated by outgoing exhaust air. Heat-recovery efficiency above 90%. It maintains air quality and eliminates condensation in airtight buildings.
Battery storage
Lithium-ion battery storage allows solar production to be used at night and during periods of low production. Sizing is specific to each project; it typically covers 2–3 days of average consumption at current battery costs.
Smart energy management
The integrated energy-management system monitors production, consumption, grid import/export, and indoor conditions. It is accessible by smartphone. The system optimises self-consumption and provides alerts for anomalies.
What performance depends on
ZeroEnergy performance is site-specific. Solar production varies significantly depending on latitude, roof pitch, and shading. Geothermal potential depends on soil conditions and the land available for collectors. We model energy performance for each project using site-specific data before specifying systems. Published energy-class figures reflect standard Central European conditions; actual performance values are provided at design stage.
Questions about ZeroEnergy
Next step
Begin your ZeroEnergy project
Tell us about your site and we will calculate the ZeroEnergy system for your specific location and consumption.