Also see: Tiny House Design and Tiny House Map
Off-grid family provides a detailed report on living with a solar powered refrigerator.
“For several months now, the refrigerator has operated smoothly and silently at a constant 4 degrees (C ) at the ‘medium’ setting. There has been no frost or moisture buildup. Our batteries seem to hardly notice the draw.”
Continue reading about Our experience with a solar powered refrigerator | Eartheasy Blog.
Simple tiny house for sale and located in central New Jersey.
“Passive solar design, completely finished walls inside with low VOC paint, kitchen “area” with refrigerator, chair/pull-put couch, high-value rigid board insulation ( ceiling is double insulated! so it is heats up great in the winter and stays cool in the summer) and comes with the gold standard heater for tiny homes: Newport-Dickinson P900 fireplace propane heater.”
via Unique Four Season East Coast Tiny House on Wheels.
If you’ve been curious about tiny solar systems for tiny houses, here’s a homeowner that just upgraded and discovered the difference a couple panels can make.
“We finally had a break in all the rain so we took an opportunity to install the new solar power system. Our electrician friend Dann (who helped us wire the house during construction) is in town so he helped with the solar install as well.”
Read the entire post at Life in 120 Square Feet: Sunny Days = Solar Installation.
MIRAI NIHON Project from mirainihon project on Vimeo.
Accepting that our infrastructure is fragile and that the uninterrupted supply of energy is no guarantee, this ad agency asked the hard question, can we live without a connection to the grid?
I really like projects like this because it brings the truth that diversified small scale solutions are not only more environmentally sustainable – they are more sustainable through tough times.
“Japanese agency TBWA\HAKUHODO has designed a house full of new technology which will allow homeowners to live comfortably even if they are completely off the grid.”
See video and learn more about Japanese Ad Company Designs 100% Off-Grid House – The Good Human.
Kevin from the Solar Shed wrote this guest post for We Love Sheds.
“Over the years, Shed men and women have often pondered as to how to power up their wooden edifices, and be able to see when its dark, stay warm in the winter when preparing the ‘plot’, make a brew and all the other things that shed folk would like, to make life easier.”
Read the full article: Shed Week Guest post: Powering your shed — shedblog.co.uk – We love sheds.
Small solar ideas for distributed energy solutions from Michigan Technological University.
“Tiny houses don’t have much room on their tiny roofs, and that’s a problem when it comes to finding space for solar panels, let alone a combined solar power system that can generate both electricity and heat. However, help is on the way in the form of a new compact photovoltaic thermal energy system under development at Michigan Technological University, and it could help make off-grid solar power more cost-effective for larger buildings, too.”
via MTU Researcher Develops Low Cost Integrated PVT System.
This past week I updated the plans for the Tiny Solar Saltbox. This is a small 8′ by 12′ structure that can be expanded by building multiple units for larger footprints like 16′ by 12′ and 24′ by 12′. Pictured here is a 16′ by 12′ example.
This past week I published a set of tiny house plans for tiny solar house. It’s a little 8′ by 12′ saltbox that can be built in multiple units so the owner builder can build a larger home (12×16, 12×24, 12×32, etc) from the same set of plans. The 40-page plans cost $9.99 and can be ordered online and downloaded to your computer.
All the homes at the Solar Decathlon are impressive showcases of advanced renewable energy technology, and it looks like the German team took the first place prize with their cube-shaped surPLUShome. Congratulations to the team from Germany!
2009 Solar Decathlon Winner
Bill Brooks is making great progress on his tiny solar house built from the free house plans I offer on Tiny House Design. It’s especially exciting for me to see one of my designs come together. When Bill is done with this house he plans to take it on an extended trip up to Alaska. Follow Bill on Twitter