.png?width=50&height=50&name=Stillwater_LogoOnly%20(Black).png)
When homeowners in Victoria start researching builders, they encounter a phrase on nearly every website: energy efficient. It's on our site. It's on our competitors' sites. It's on the sites of builders who do exceptional work and builders who have never thought deeply about it at all.
The phrase is honest in most cases. But it covers a lot of ground, from homes that barely meet the provincial building code minimum to homes that use almost no energy at all. Understanding where on that spectrum a builder actually builds is one of the most important questions you can ask before you commit to a project. This post is our attempt to make that question easier to answer.
BC Step Code: The Floor, Not the Ceiling
Most homeowners don't know that British Columbia has a specific energy efficiency framework built into its building code. It's called the BC Energy Step Code, and it works on a scale of 1 to 5, where Step 1 is the old minimum and Step 5 is the target the provincial government wants all new homes to reach by 2032.
Currently, most municipalities in the Greater Victoria area require new Part 9 homes (single-family homes, duplexes, and townhomes) to be built to Step 3. That translates to roughly 20% more energy efficient than a home built in 2017. It's a meaningful improvement over where things were a decade ago, but it's still just the legal minimum. A Step 3 home is not what most people picture when they imagine an energy-efficient custom home.
The Step Code matters because it creates a common language. When you're evaluating builders, you can ask directly: what step do you typically build to? The answer tells you a great deal about how seriously a builder thinks about energy performance, and how your home will actually function for the next thirty years.
What a Code-Compliant Home Looks Like in Practice
A home built to Step 3 will have reasonable insulation, standard double-pane windows, and enough air sealing to pass the required blower door test. It will be warmer and more efficient than a home built twenty years ago. Your heating bills will be lower than they would have been with an older standard.
What it will also have, in most cases, is a fair amount of what building scientists call incidental air leakage. Cold spots near windows on January mornings. Rooms that feel slightly different depending on where they are in the house. A heating system that runs frequently to maintain a consistent temperature.
None of this is a failure. A well-built code-compliant home is a perfectly good home. But it's not the same as a home designed specifically to hold its temperature, maintain consistent air quality, and work as little as possible to keep you comfortable.
Read more: The smart home decisions that actually matter
What High-Performance Building Looks Like Above Code
There is a meaningful difference between a builder who builds to the minimum and a builder who treats energy performance as a design goal. That difference shows up in a handful of specific decisions made early in a project, decisions that are very difficult and expensive to revisit later.
The building envelope. A high-performance home is designed so that the barrier between inside and outside is continuous and deliberate. Wall assemblies have more insulation, installed more carefully. Thermal bridging, the points where heat can escape through structural elements, are minimized or eliminated. The result is a home that holds its temperature without working hard to do it.
Airtightness. Beyond what Step Code requires, high-performance builders push for tighter blower door results, often half the maximum allowed leakage or better. In a coastal climate like Victoria's, where damp air finds every gap, this matters. A tight home stays drier, stays warmer, and has better air quality because you control what comes in and out rather than leaving it to chance.
Mechanical ventilation. An airtight home without proper ventilation would be a problem. High-performance builders pair a tight envelope with a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) or energy recovery ventilator (ERV), systems that bring in fresh air continuously while recovering most of the heat from the air going out. You won't need to choose between fresh air and warmth. The air in your home will feel noticeably cleaner.
Windows and glazing. Victoria winters aren't dramatically cold, but they're grey and damp for long enough that a poorly glazed window makes itself known. Triple-pane windows are standard in high-performance construction because they stay warm to the touch when the temperature drops, rather than radiating cold into the room. That difference in surface temperature matters more than most people expect. No condensation on the glass in January. No cold zone forming beside the window that you'd instinctively avoid sitting near.
Taken together, these details produce a home that is stable, quiet, and comfortable in a way that's hard to articulate until you've lived in one. The heating system runs less. The temperature is even room to room. The air feels fresh without you doing anything to make it that way.
Read more: The Top 15 Features for Passive Homes in BC
Where Passive House Fits In
At the top of the energy efficiency spectrum sits the Passive House standard, a rigorous third-party certified building methodology developed in Germany and now used globally. A certified Passive House home can use up to 80% less energy for heating and cooling than a conventionally built home. It achieves this through a precise combination of super insulation, airtightness, high-performance glazing, thermal bridge elimination, and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery.
Stillwater is a registered member of Passive House Canada, which means our training in building science goes all the way to the top of that scale. In practice, full Passive House certification isn't something most of our clients choose to pursue. The cost premium to achieve formal certification is real, and for many projects it tips the budget beyond what makes sense given their goals. We're honest about that.
What the training does is change how we build at every budget level. We consistently exceed the Step Code minimum, and the principles of passive construction (careful airtightness, thermal bridge reduction, proper mechanical ventilation) inform the decisions we make on every project. The degree to which we apply them is a conversation about what matters most to you and what your budget can support, not a checkbox we switch off when full certification isn't in scope.
If you want to understand what Passive House principles actually mean, specifically the five core elements and how they apply to Vancouver Island's climate, we've written about that in more detail separately.
Net Zero: A Different Goal, Often Confused with the Same One
Net zero and Passive House are frequently mentioned in the same breath, and both show up under the umbrella of energy-efficient building. They're not the same thing, and the distinction matters when you're planning a custom home.
A net zero home is defined by its energy balance: over the course of a year, it produces as much energy as it consumes, typically through solar panels or another renewable source. The focus is on the output side of the equation. A Passive House home is defined by its energy demand: it's built so tightly and so carefully that it barely needs energy for heating and cooling in the first place, regardless of what the solar panels are generating. One is about production. The other is about reduction.
You can technically reach net zero with a building envelope that isn't particularly efficient. You just add enough solar panels to offset what you're consuming. The problem is that this approach is more expensive, more dependent on equipment with a finite lifespan, and more vulnerable to changes in how energy is priced or how grid-tied systems are regulated. A home that simply needs less to begin with is more resilient in a way that doesn't depend on anything external to the walls.
The more durable path to net zero runs through the envelope first: build tight, reduce demand as far as the budget supports, then let a modest solar array carry you the rest of the way. This is reflected in the BC Step Code itself. Step 5 uses the language "net zero ready," meaning the home has been built efficiently enough that a reasonably sized renewable energy system can close the gap. It's not net zero by default. It's a home positioned to reach it without needing a rooftop covered in panels to compensate for poor insulation.
For most of our clients, net zero readiness is a long-term horizon rather than a day-one requirement. What we can do is build the foundation that makes it achievable, so that if solar makes sense for your property and your goals, the home is ready to support it without major retrofitting.
The Questions Worth Asking
Every builder in Victoria will tell you they build energy-efficient homes. Here are the questions that get past the phrase and into the practice:
What BC Energy Step Code level do you build to as your standard? The answer should be Step 3 at minimum, but a builder who genuinely prioritizes performance will typically exceed that without being asked.
What airtightness results do you typically achieve on your blower door tests? A builder who tracks this and can give you a real number is a builder who thinks carefully about performance. The BC Step Code minimum for Step 3 is 2.5 air changes per hour at 50 pascals. High-performance builders often achieve well below 1.0.
What type of ventilation system do you install as standard? The right answer is an HRV or ERV. Builders who don't include mechanical ventilation in an airtight home are creating problems they may not mention.
How do you handle thermal bridges in your wall assemblies? This is a technical question, but a builder who can answer it clearly understands building science at a level that matters.
Are you familiar with Passive House principles, and how do they inform your builds even when full certification isn't the goal? A builder trained in high-performance building science will apply that knowledge regardless of whether a project pursues formal certification. The answer reveals how deeply they understand the why behind the details, not just the code minimum they're required to hit.
A Note on Why This Matters in Victoria Specifically
Vancouver Island's climate is mild compared to much of Canada, which sometimes leads people to underestimate how much building performance matters here. But our winters are damp and grey in a way that tests building envelopes differently than dry cold does. Moisture finds its way into gaps that wouldn't matter in a drier climate. Homes that aren't detailed carefully can feel clammy and difficult to heat comfortably, even when the temperature outside is only a few degrees below zero.
A home built to high-performance standards, tight and well-ventilated with a continuous thermal envelope, handles a Victoria winter quietly and without drama. It also handles the summers that are becoming warmer, the extended dry periods, and the occasional cold snap that used to be a once-a-decade event.
We build for the climate we actually have, and for the one that seems to be arriving.
Where to Start
If you're planning a custom home or major renovation in Greater Victoria and want to understand what level of energy performance makes sense for your project, the best place to begin is a conversation. Every site is different, every budget has its own priorities, and the right combination of performance measures depends on how you plan to live in the home and for how long.
We'd be glad to talk through what high-performance building looks like for your specific project and what it would actually cost.
Stillwater Custom Homes & Renovations builds custom homes and renovations across Greater Victoria, the Saanich Peninsula, and the Gulf Islands. We are a licensed BC builder and registered member of Passive House Canada.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is BC Step Code and does it apply to all new homes in Victoria?
The BC Energy Step Code is a provincial framework that sets progressively higher energy efficiency targets for new construction, working on a scale of 1 to 5. Step 5 is the net-zero-ready target the province is aiming for by 2032. Most municipalities in Greater Victoria currently require new Part 9 homes (single-family homes, duplexes, and townhomes) to be built to Step 3, which translates to roughly 20% more energy efficient than a home built in 2017. The specific requirement varies by municipality, so it's worth confirming what applies to your site early in the planning process.
What's the difference between BC Step Code and Passive House?
BC Step Code is a regulatory framework, specifically the minimum your builder is legally required to meet. Passive House is a voluntary, internationally recognized building standard that goes considerably further. A certified Passive House home can use up to 80% less energy for heating and cooling than a conventionally built home. Think of Step Code as the floor the industry is being pushed toward, and Passive House as the ceiling. Most high-performance builders work somewhere in between, applying Passive House principles (careful airtightness, triple-pane glazing, thermal bridge reduction) without necessarily pursuing formal certification.
Does building to a higher step code cost significantly more?
The cost premium depends on how much higher above code you're building and, crucially, when those decisions get made. High-performance building decisions made during design cost far less than the same improvements attempted after construction is underway. An HRV system, an upgraded insulation spec, or triple-pane windows added early in the process are meaningfully less expensive than retrofitting them later. We work through these trade-offs as part of our pre-construction process so that nothing is a surprise, and so you can decide where to invest before anything is committed to.
What is an HRV and why does it matter in a new custom home?
An HRV (heat recovery ventilator) is a mechanical ventilation system that continuously exchanges stale indoor air for fresh outdoor air while recovering most of the heat from the air going out. In a well-sealed home, it isn't optional; it's essential. Without controlled ventilation, a tight building envelope leads to moisture buildup, poor air quality, and a stuffiness that makes a home feel uncomfortable regardless of how well it's insulated. An ERV (energy recovery ventilator) works similarly and handles humidity more effectively in certain climates. Both are standard in high-performance construction and should be part of any serious conversation about energy-efficient building.
What does a blower door test measure, and why does it matter?
A blower door test measures how airtight a building is by depressurizing the home with a large calibrated fan and measuring how much air leaks through gaps in the envelope. The result is expressed in air changes per hour at 50 pascals, or ACH50. BC Step Code Step 3 requires a result of 2.5 ACH50 or better. High-performance builders typically aim for results well below that threshold. The tighter the home, the more stable and comfortable it will be, and the less work the heating and ventilation systems have to do to maintain it. Asking a builder for their typical blower door results is one of the most direct ways to understand how seriously they approach performance.
What is the difference between a net zero home and a high-performance home?
Net zero refers to the energy balance: a home that produces as much energy as it consumes over a year, typically through solar panels or another renewable source. High-performance building refers to how little energy the home needs in the first place. The two goals are related but distinct. You can reach net zero with a modest building envelope if you generate enough solar to offset what you're consuming, but that approach is more expensive, more equipment-dependent, and less resilient than reducing demand at the source. The most durable path to net zero runs through the building envelope first: build tight, reduce demand, then let a reasonably sized renewable energy system carry you the rest of the way. BC Step Code Step 5 uses the term "net zero ready" for exactly this reason: it describes a home efficient enough for solar to close the gap without compensating for a poorly built envelope.
Does Stillwater build certified Passive House homes?
We are registered members of Passive House Canada, which means our training in building science reaches the top of the performance scale. In practice, full Passive House certification isn't something most of our clients choose to pursue. The cost premium for formal third-party certification is real, and for many projects it tips the budget past what makes sense given their goals. What the training does is change how we build at every level. We consistently exceed the Step Code minimum on our projects, and the principles of passive construction inform the decisions we make from the design stage onward. How far we take those principles is a conversation shaped by what matters most to you and what your budget can support.
How do I evaluate whether a builder in Victoria is genuinely building to high-performance standards?
The most useful questions are specific rather than general. Ask what BC Energy Step Code level they build to as their standard, and whether they can show you recent blower door results. Ask what ventilation system they include as standard and how they handle thermal bridges in their wall assemblies. Ask whether they've had any training in Passive House principles and how that informs their work. A builder who thinks carefully about performance will answer these questions with real numbers and clear reasoning. One who deflects toward general assurances about quality and experience probably isn't tracking the metrics that determine how a home actually performs.
