When "Jerry and Charlotte" went house hunting almost a decade ago, they initially envisioned a classic place filled with Old World charm. Instead, they chose a modest ranch-style home in Sunnyvale, built in 1957.

"It wasn't the look we were initially hoping for," says Jerry (the couple requested that their real names not be published), "but tastes change, and the clean lines definitely grew on us."

Eventually, though, the pair wearied of "quirks" such as condensation on the single-pane windows whenever the weather turned cold or rainy, and a perpetually chilly corner in the three-bedroom, two-bath house where mold was discovered. Moreover, the noninsulated walls and a poorly designed fireplace leaked warmth. The heating system was in constant use, drying the air and stirring up dust.

The large triple-pane windows in the living/dining area (which cost roughly 20 percent more than double-pane glazing) have dramatically reduced noise from
The large triple-pane windows in the living/dining area (which cost roughly 20 percent more than double-pane glazing) have dramatically reduced noise from the outdoors and helped stabilize indoor temperatures year-round. (Tour Factory/One Sky Homes)

Other factors fueled the couple's desire to make some changes. Charlotte, an excellent cook, yearned for an updated kitchen with more storage space. The master bath needed a makeover, too.

Clearly, changes were needed.

At about the time this realization set in some two years ago, Jerry had been exploring information about "passive houses," which incorporate an extremely energy-efficient construction concept and building standard, in which living comfort, air quality and durability are paramount.

'Conscious building'

The first passive houses were built in Germany in 1990. About 25,000 certified structures are now found in Europe, but only relatively few exist in the United States. According to Passive House California (http://passivehousecal.org), an organization formed to educate the public about passive homes, roughly 40 such residences (both certified and uncertified) have been built in the greater Bay Area.

"The principles on airtightness, super insulation, how it all fits together as a system -- the idea really clicked with me," says Jerry, who pored over websites such as www.passivehousecal.org to learn all he could. "You'd think in the Bay Area there would be a good concentration of this kind of forward-thinking, conscious building, but the number is still very small."

Jerry's research led him to San Jose-based One Sky Homes (oneskyhomes.com). Owned by licensed contractor Allen Gilliland, the business designs and builds high-performance (including net-zero-energy) homes, and does "whole-house" remodels. So far though, One Sky has completed only a single whole-house remodel, Jerry and Charlotte's.

"The marketplace doesn't exist because (passive houses are) so new, so revolutionary (here)," Gilliland says. "It's in its infancy. Nine out of 10 people have no clue what it is."

Gilliland contends that "standard construction is stupid because it's energy inefficient, with poor comfort levels and durability. What you're doing (with a passive house) is optimizing the passive thermal energy flows in a building." He adds that, in many cases, the cost difference for a passive home is only 5 to 10 percent higher than for standard construction.

That optimization requires, among other things, designing with the sun in mind, engineering shading and using software to model the building.

The master suite bath is equipped with Hans Grohe fixtures and a timer switch-controlled heater that can rapidly elevate the temperature to a spa-like 80
The master suite bath is equipped with Hans Grohe fixtures and a timer switch-controlled heater that can rapidly elevate the temperature to a spa-like 80 degrees; the heat is then recycled to the rest of the house. (Tour Factory/One Sky Homes)

Jerry, an engineer, liked that approach. "We're always designing products and prototyping them on computers -- virtually prototyping them -- and making adjustments before we ever make a physical object," he says. "If we're doing this with consumer products, why aren't we doing this with buildings?"

Gilliland, who speaks with the passion of an evangelist, was delighted to find these like-minded homeowners from Sunnyvale. They agreed to a nine-month project in which One Sky Homes would demolish their residence to the studs, then rebuild it to passive standards.

The couple and their two small children stayed with "gracious friends" during the retrofit. Among the basic improvements: deep insulation in both the new roof and newly reinforced walls, triple-pane windows, more natural light and a more open plan for the living area.

In addition, the kitchen was expanded. It now boasts an 8-foot island with seating, as well as floating cabinets and storage space, which serve as a room divider.

A pair of windows added opposite the kitchen stretch almost floor to ceiling. They augment several sliding windows that visually extend the living room into the backyard. The master bath was updated and the inefficient fireplace removed. Gilliland describes the home's fresh look as "a modern European transitional aesthetic."

All this was accomplished without altering the original footprint, which covered 1,650-square-feet of ground.

Jerry proudly points out that many items -- from lighting fixtures to kitchen stools to a range hood ("a steal from eBay!") -- were his own finds online.

But the real triumph for everyone involved, they say, is how the remodel has enhanced the home's overall comfort levels. As Gilliland notes on the One Sky website: "We insulated every square inch of this home, upgraded the windows, carefully sealed the leaky envelope and added a heat-recovery ventilation system that delivers fresh, filtered air to each room in the home 24/7/365."

Notable differences

For Jerry, the difference was apparent as soon as they moved back into the updated home in April. "It was super comfortable inside," he says referring to the easily controlled temperature and constantly cleansed air. "My allergies were better. A friend who has allergies worse than mine was at one of our dinner parties and, within 15 minutes of being indoors, wasn't suffering reactions at all."

Says Gilliland, "The starting point of high-performance buildings is to make them more energy efficient, but in the process you end up improving all these other characteristics. The house will last a hundred years. Air quality is probably No. 1, then thermal energy and low maintenance. Plus it's comfortable and quiet."

To do its part in growing the industry, One Sky Homes has partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America program, whose aim is to bring building innovations to market. And Jerry and Charlotte have agreed to let their house be monitored, so temporary thermometers were placed in every room; there are also meters for tracking gas and electricity usage.

"The numbers are going to show the reduction in energy being used is massive -- about 90 percent for this space -- while at the same time with vastly improved air quality," Gilliland predicts.

So what price for comfort and hyper-efficiency?

"Think in terms of roughly 10 percent incremental investment up front -- for more insulation, better ventilation systems, etc. -- all of which over time are helping offset that difference by lowering the cost of running your building," Gilliland says. He adds, "You cannot make the case for 'deep energy retrofits,' as they are often called, on the simple payback math of annual energy bill savings. Rather, you need to include the value of the other building performance criteria over the life cycle of the building."

An affordable option

Jerry says, "I've figured that for all costs for basically a full tear-down and rebuild -- including stuff we bought, such as appliances, lighting, plumbing fixtures, hardware, installations, permits, etc. -- we kept it below $250 per square foot. If we had not opted for higher-end (or) custom trims, cabinets, etc., I think costs would have been in the range of $220 per square foot." In other words, the total for upgrading and making their home passive came in at roughly $412,000.

Gilliland adds, "The documented incremental cost above standard building code level for full passive house performance measures was 5 percent, or $21,000," on this project.

For comparison, One Sky also built the first certified Zero-Energy Home in the state last year. In February 2013, that four-bed, four-bath house in the Willow Glen section of San Jose sold for $1.76 million.

When Jerry and Charlotte are asked if they would have done anything differently, now that they've lived in the passive house for just over nine months, Jerry says, "I would have liked the retrofit to have gone faster, but no. There wasn't much choice on the time frame. ... Allen and I saw eye-to-eye on that. You just can't do this kind of project piecemeal."