On a residential road near downtown Ottawa stands what could be the solution to Canada's ballooning energy concern: a stylish and sophisticated duplex home that runs on only a fraction of the power that your house does.

The Ottawa duplex, named the Rideau Residences, recently earned Canada's first passive house designation and establishing itself as the benchmark for a growing green-home movement in Canada.

The house, built by Vert Design in Ottawa's New Edinburgh neighbourhood, uses 90 per cent less energy than the typical Canadian home. Principal designer Chris Straka estimates it will cost about $400 to heat the 1,500-square-foot home over the course of a year.

The science sounds pretty straightforward, once you strip away the green-tech jargon. Thickly insulated walls, specialty windows and a sound, air-tight design leave the semi-detached home nearly untouched by Canada's bitter winters and sudden summer hot streaks.

"One of the few things that make it different is how it performs from an energy efficiency standpoint," Straka told CTV.ca. "We are going to start seeing this more in the next few years in custom homes. There is no question the value shows itself really quickly."

While the passive house movement is in its infancy in Canada, there are about 30,000 such homes in Europe and it is catching on in the U.S. as well.

Passive homes can maintain a comfortable interior climate without active heating and cooling systems. With careful planning, and an ambitious design, Straka says green home builders can create a passive home without adding much to the overall cost of construction.

Thicker insulation coats the walls to stop heat from escaping while triple-pane windows keep the winter cold out while the sun's natural warmth leaks into the home.

Thermally heated air is used in the ventilation system, while solar panes on the roof can help provide some, if not all, of the necessary power.

The key to keeping passive houses cost effective is to increase the building's performance to the point that conventional heating systems can be eliminated entirely. The savings will make up for the higher building costs, Straka said.

"It is a truly Canadian accomplishment. We can do it here. We have the knowledge, we have the material. You can do it, too," he said. "The real trick for a green building designer is putting the pieces together appropriately."

To earn a designation from the Passive House Institute, a home must be five to 10 times more airtight than an average new building, effectively cutting out any air flow through minute wall cracks and window seepages. Straka describes the result as a perfect, unrippling environment.

"It feels stable and consistent. When you sit by a window you don't feel any colder than if you were sitting 10 or 15 feet away from a window. If you put your hand on an outside wall it is going to feel the same as an inside wall."

A passive house must also use about 10 per cent of the energy for heating and cooling that a home built to the Ontario Building Code would use. Of course, using a fraction of the energy also leaves passive home owners paying far less in energy costs.

"This really resonates with people," Straka said. "It is pretty simple to see where and how there is value in building a passive home."

Straka took on the challenge of building the Ottawa duplex, called the Rideau Residences, as a sort of side project; a way to research and develop green technologies that Vert Design could use again.

He didn't set out to reach the rare passive home designation, he said. He had been told it would be impossible to hit the benchmark in a Canadian climate, using only material available in Canada. Halfway through construction, an inspector realized he was on target.

"When we did the best we could using what we have got here, we were pretty surprised to find out it did certify," Straka said. "Not only is it the first passive house that is being used as a residence, it was also built using Canadian knowledge and Canadian materials and systems.

"At the time there were no examples of passive homes in Canada."

The only other designated passive building in Canada was constructed in Whistler, B.C., ahead of the 2010 Winter Games. An Austrian collective build the showcase home using specially designed parts and material imported from Europe. The building remains, but it is not used as a living quarters.

Straka says if the passive house movement is going to continue, Canada still needs to turn to Europe for guidance.

"In Canada, we are leaders in terms of research and development around efficient buildings," Straka said. "We know how to build better buildings. But from a legislative perspective, Canada is a laggard. We are way behind the times."

Straka said Europe is close to setting energy efficiency standards similar to that found in passive homes. In Canada, it could take decades for legislation to catch up.

"Where is the drive going to come from? Custom home builders and designers are already doing it. The ability is there, the knowledge is there. I guess the question is how much energy do we want to save in the next 10 or 20 years?"