The Valle Group applies diligence to a high-performance home that exceeds expectations.

To the average person, the term “high-performance” will usually elicit associations with sporty machines and grown-up toys: cars, boats, bikes, skis—along with gearhead jargon such as suspension curves, foil design, tolerances, and headtube angles. In the pursuit of speed, high-performance means precision handling, stability in turns, and sexy lines. But a house? What could possibly be “high-performance” about something that’s stationary and foundation-based? Perhaps some luxury accessories like Surround Sound supplied by Sonos? Alexa, Google’s digital spy assistant? Not quite. When it comes to defining high-performance in the realm of modern homebuilding, the focus is on something that should be much more of a “must-have” than a “nice-to-have”: achieving total energy efficiency. 

That was precisely the goal of the owners of this new 5,000 square-foot home nestled away on a residential wooded lot in Falmouth. While the array of solar panels on the roof may tip off the average passerby that the home was built with the environment in mind, one may not realize there’s much more to the energy efficiency story inside this net zero, high-performance home recently completed by The Valle Group.

When planning their retirement on the Cape, the homeowners had a set of criteria for the new house they planned to build. They wanted a residential neighborhood that offered a nice blend of privacy and access to local amenities, a home large enough to welcome their adult children and grandchildren for holiday visits and extended summer stays and dedicated spaces to pursue their hobbies and interests. These are all fairly common desires for a couple at their stage of life. It was their other two requirements that were a bit more unusual. They insisted on a home that would allow them to “age in place” and one that was energy self-sufficient, leaving a minimal carbon footprint. 

This brought them in contact with BrightBuilt Home, a Portland, Maine Architectural firm specializing in green building and The Valle Group, a Falmouth based family-owned custom home builder considered an expert in the field known as “Passive Home Building” and “High-Performance Construction.” (The Valle Group built the first ever “Certified Passive House” on Cape Cod more than a decade ago which was one of only 24 such houses in the nation at that time.) Over the years, the two firms have partnered together on a number of other super energy efficient homes on the Cape and were well prepared to help the homeowners achieve their goals. 

Valle Group President, Christian Valle provides some much needed context to help the uninitiated understand more about the technical terms associated with high-performance construction, Passive Houses and net zero as he explains, “High-performance construction is really the umbrella term for a specific approach to design and construction. The approach uses advanced building materials and meticulous design and construction techniques to create a building envelope that is airtight and well-insulated. This allows for optimal temperature and humidity control and reduces energy consumption. Additionally, as is the case with this house, high-performance homes may incorporate renewable energy systems such as solar panels. The goal is to achieve Net Zero Certification, which means that the home produces on site as much, or more energy than it consumes.”

So, then what is a Passive House? History indicates Passive House building is a movement that got started in the United States during the energy crisis of the 1970’s before being exported to architects and builders in Germany who perfected the approach and reintroduced it in a more mature form to the rest of the world. What began as an effort to reduce energy waste has evolved into a pursuit of the highest possible standards of green design and construction to build homes that are super energy-efficient, of the highest constructed quality, provide a healthy environment for the inhabitants, and are in harmony with the environment. The Valle Group was an early adopter of the approach here in the U.S.

Paul Kirk, one of three PHIUS Certified Passive House Builders on staff at The Valle Group was directly involved in this project and explains the fundamental principles of Passive House building. “It starts with the placement of the house on the lot. We orient the structure so that the large banks of triple pane glass (a key part of the design of any Passive/High-Performance house), are facing the southern sky. This allows the sun to warm the space and provide optimal lighting year-round. Air tightness is achieved through precision and attention to detail in the building process and the use of lots of insulation. We carefully seal all gaps to prevent energy loss and utilize heat recovery ventilation systems to mechanically control healthy air exchange with minimal energy loss.”  

Kirk points out that there is a rigorous testing and certification process for Passive Houses which is overseen by the Passive House Institute of the United States (PHIUS), the de-facto standard setting organization in the High-Performance construction world. This includes something called a “Blower Door Test” where a specialized fan with an integrated pressure gauge is placed in a sealed doorway. This puts the structure under negative pressure to check for even the tiniest of envelope leaks that need to be sealed before drywall is applied. This test is conducted again after completion. While all Valle Group High-Performance homes undergo this testing, some homeowners opt to forego official Passive House Certification because they can see all the benefits for themselves, without the certification paperwork. “The energy benefits are readily apparent. We built a Passive House a few years ago where the homeowner called to tell us they hadn’t even put their heat on during a recent snowstorm since the house was staying comfortable from the warmth of their oven after cooking a meal and from their own body heat. The difference between a High-Performance house and standard construction is really night and day,” Kirk says.

Valle says that while reducing energy usage and costs has great appeal to most people, some homeowners take additional steps to make their home is even more sustainable, as well as healthier for themselves and the planet. This can include considerations around the types of construction materials they select. One recent Valle Group project used only wood that had been certified sustainable by the Forest Stewardship Council, recycled cementitious panels for exterior sheathing, and paints and finishes that met the lowest Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) standards.   

With the energy efficiency aspects of the project covered by the high-performance approach, the architect and builder addressed the other requirement: a home fit for “aging in place.” This is an increasingly popular design approach, especially among slightly older clients who are preparing for accessibility down the road, or for others who already have a senior in the home. The idea is to create a living environment that can accommodate the changing needs of aging residents for as long as possible. In the case of the Falmouth house that meant placing the primary bedroom on the first floor, building wider doorways without thresholds to allow easy wheelchair access, incorporating grab rails in the bathroom design, and things of that nature. 

In terms of the aesthetics of the home, that was all the domain of the homeowners. The interior has a sleek and modern, yet warm and cozy atmosphere where everything feels bathed in natural light. Honey-colored wooden floors, and crisp white walls and ceilings are perfectly balanced with rich cherry tones. Lush soft seating and custom built-ins beckon guests to sit and relax. An open kitchen highlights natural stone surfaces and stainless-steel appliances and fixtures. The owners selected much of their furniture from Pompanoosuc Mills of Thetford, Vermont, which has been making handcrafted pieces for over 50 years. 

Overall, the choices made today—beginning as early as site orientation for our homes, and following all the way through to the materials and decorative items we choose to surround ourselves with—can leverage the years of accumulated knowledge in the building industry to create spaces that will endure well into a future shared by many. 

Chris White is a freelance writer for Cape Cod Life Publications.