Sailing yacht Zero sea trials #08: Rethinking air conditioning

A project like sailing yacht Zero requires radical energy efficiency — and this means rethinking every onboard system. Take, for example, air conditioning.

Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) regulations state that indoor carbon dioxide levels must be maintained within a strict window of 400 to 1,000 parts per million (ppm). To ensure compliance with this, standard practice is doing six complete air changes for each room per hour.

However, this is where energy rears its head. Repeatedly cooling warm air pulled from outside the vessel six times an hour is a huge power drain. But the team behind Zero came up with a clever solution: dynamic CO₂ monitoring.

The system measures carbon dioxide levels room-by-room, adjusting airflow based on occupancy. In other words, ventilation is matched directly to demand. If no one is in a room, energy won’t be wasted removing carbon dioxide that’s barely there.

Watch the video below to find out more about this story, and stay tuned for more updates on the sea trials!