A few years ago we purchased some vacant land in northern New Mexico. We chose that area based on a number of factors. Some of those included wide-open space, abundant sunshine, affordability and artistic history (Georgia O’Keeffe lived down the road a bit). Our long term goal is to retire there and pursue a simple artistic life. One of the main reasons we chose that piece of property is its remoteness to other neighbors and the lack of congestion that comes from urban living. Urban living has a lot of advantages like electricity, water, and corner coffee shops. We plan to work around some of these conveniences using “off-grid” practices. I have enjoyed camping since I was toddler. The slower pace of life in an environment more closely linked with nature has always been a draw. Our cabin provides all of this with far more elbow room than a tent. Add in windows, a wood stove and a comfy bed and what could be better?

Site Location and Solar Power

Our parcel of land is a bit under 42 acres and nearly all the land around us is uninhabited grazing land. In fact, the people we bought our land from still graze horses and cattle on their square mile that surrounds us. I have spent enjoyable nights there listening to the baying of cattle and cry of a lonely coyote. Our decision to go “off-grid” was simple: the nearest utility pole to our cabin is nearly a mile away. We could have paid thousands of dollars to run power poles and lines to “connect” but then those “lines” would disturb our pristine views and require a monthly payment. For a fraction of that cost, we simply installed a basic PV (Photovoltaic) system. Our cabin is small at a bit under 200 sq. feet and has modest energy needs.

I designed all of our cabin’s lighting needs to be met with 12 volt DC based LED’s. This eliminates the energy losses of converting solar DC in to normal AC current. By utilizing a lot of task lighting, the whole cabin does not need to be lit to perform basic tasks. Even so, if every light in the cabin is turned on our total lighting use is less than 40 watts. This low demand allowed us to scale down the entire PV system to a basic 80-watt panel and a single 110-amp/hour storage battery. This DC system is supplemented with a basic power inverter, which allows us to run some AC devices and even some smaller power tools. The coffee bean grinder is our most common use of 120-volt AC.

Challenges with Building the Cabin

Building in a remote location has some added challenges that many take for granted. Power, water and access to building materials top the list. For us the build began with pouring concrete footers that would support the cabin’s framing. Getting the concrete there was the easy part; mixing 1800 pounds by hand with water carried in jugs was the hard part. I completed the bulk of the framing over a couple of weeks using a generator to run my air compressor. Having compressed air allowed me to use my pneumatic nail guns which greatly sped up the build. Since then, a lot of the work has been done using smaller 18 volt cordless tools, hand nailing trim, etc. The solar system has no trouble charging the battery packs for my cordless tools, and as an added bonus the solar system is silent…that gas powered generator would drown out the subtle sounds of nature that surround us, and that is a primary reason we like living there.

Cooking, Water and Heat

In a conventional home, the turning of a knob may bring life to a cook stove using natural gas or electricity at 220 volts. Our cooking heat is provided by a couple of means depending on the season and the items being cooked. In the summer we often will cook over a campfire outdoors…grilled steaks, hotdogs on a stick and of course marshmallows for s’mores. The morning coffee is French press, with water heated on the Coleman camp stove (summer) or on the wood stove (winter). Other cooking is done in a similar manner; the only thing that we are still experimenting with is small scale baking using a Dutch oven on top of the wood stove.

All of our water is brought in using 5 gallon Nalgene jugs. Hot water for washing and cleaning is heated the same way that we heat our cooking water.

Our cabin is passive solar by design and when the winter sun is shining, the wood stove is not usually required. When the winter chill does come calling at night, we stoke it up and can stay quite comfortable with just a few logs. Our grey water is used to irrigate the local sagebrush and we use a basic sawdust composting toilet for solid waste. Since it’s portable, the sawdust toilet can be brought inside if the winter temps make its normal use in our woodshed uncomfortable. We have a small alcove in the cabin that provides privacy for this if needed.

A Work in Progress

The initial building process had us “dried in” after a months work, but I still have a ways to go on a lot of the smaller details. The build is being completed as time and money allow. Our cabin is a six hour drive from our full time home so we do not get down there as often as I would like…but when we are there time is well spent with a balance of work and play. When the time does come to live there full time, the plan is to live in the small cabin while a more elaborate (ie: running water) home is built using the same basic “off- grid” mind set.

Kevin Stevens writes for Networx.com.

I just finished designing and building my first micro-home. I am a theatrical designer who has taken a detour this year to build something sustainable. It is made almost entirely out of repurposed and recycled materials.

It is 12 ft. X 7 ft. with a 3 ft. tow hitch. The interior is cedar-lined and has a wood burning stove, designer interior, stand-up shower inside the bed, lots of storage, composting toilet hidden in the chair, solar chandelier and gravity water.

It is built simply with simple parts and is easy to care for. It seats 4-6 people inside for dinner.

A wooden rod runs along one edge of the roof for hanging a designer awning. The tires are brand new and it comes with lots of safety features such as carbon monoxide detector, fire alarm, fire extinguisher, LED lights, and a machete which can be very useful outdoors. The 40 Watt portable solar panel, inverter, and lithium ion are battery all included. The door is only 19 inches wide and adds an instant charm along with the curved roof and scalloped flashing. The chimney is triple walled and the stove easily slides out for summer cooking or cleaning.

It is insulated on all 4 walls, ceiling and floor to withstand a blizzard. It is wrapped in Tyvek House Wrap for weatherproofing as well.

The shingles are rated to withstand hurricane winds. Weight- 3,300 lbs. This place is solid! And gorgeous! Ready to move in! $16,500 includes everything.

[View with PicLens]

Mariah and Ryan Lingard fell in love with the woods and lakes of Joseph, Oregon and purchased some partially burned, partially logged land after seeing an ad in the local paper. The 100×150 foot parcel of land cost them $47,000 and is located smack dab in the middle of hiking, skiing and snowshoe territory. The couple has a full-time home in Portland, but they make the 6-hour trip to the Signal Shed about four times a year.

After two years of planning and extended weekend camping trips to their land, the couple built the 130 square foot cabin over a two week period with friends and family. The materials cost about $10,000 and the cabin features several recycled windows, IKEA cabinets and laminate flooring. They found the barn door hardware and the woodstove on Craigslist. The cabin rests on a floating pier to minimize impact on the land and cedar screens used to lock it up when Mariah and Ryan are not around. The Signal Shed has no running water, no electricity and the couple uses the woodstove for heat and some cooking.

Mariah grew up in an off-grid home in rural Oregon and is not bothered by the lack of running water or the portable toilet. The couple heat up water on the stove or in a solar water heater, and read at night by candlelight or oil lamp.

The structure was awarded a 2011 Residential Architect Magazine design award. As an architect, Ryan is now offering the Signal Shed plans for sale in limited quantities. It is being sold for $18,000 for a prefab modular structure and detailed plans are being sold for $1,000.

Photos courtesy of Sunset and Ryan Lingard

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

The 400-square foot unit has solar panels on its roof, which are capable of producing 2 kilowatts of power. The unit also has a prototype backup propane generator, bamboo flooring, LED lighting, recycled axels and tires, recycled lumber composite decking, rinnai on-demand water heating, energy efficient heating and air-conditioning.

The unit has also been equipped with a complete assortment of eco-friendly cleaning and bathroom products, including coreless toilet paper that leaves no cardboard core at the end of the roll. Even the unit’s Amish-style furniture has been manufactured from recycled milk jugs and recycled hickory wood.

“We are very proud of this unit,” said Tim Gage, Cavco’s vice president, after trucking the 400-square foot cottage 2,600 miles to the Herkimer Diamond KOA campground in upstate New York. “It demonstrates not only the extent to which campgrounds are pursuing green initiatives, but it shows what Cavco is capable of producing as a company.”

Tim tells me that they are getting so many emails and requests for smaller homes and of course solar. With all the Green elements and 2KW of Off Grid Solar it will be available for $68,000 to the public. Freight, Generator and set-up is additional. One other item that I wanted to mention was that GENERAC is using a prototype propane generator for off grid living on the lodge. Very quiet when running.

For more information on Cavco’s eco-friendly park models, please contact Tim Gage at (602) 763-5488. www.cavcoparkhomes.com

Northern Timbers built the microhome with design help from landscape architect and metal artist H. Keith Wagner.

Much of Northern Timbers’ work reinterprets the traditional Vermont vernacular by introducing new applications of diverse materials into the residential setting, resulting in homes with a practical yet creative aesthetic. The exterior steel of the building will weather in the extreme climate, giving extra character to the place.

Their design meets the challenges of a northern climate while creating a modern, energy efficient tiny home. Their company has achieved LEED Gold certification, while two other homes they built were awarded American Institute of Architecture awards for Excellence in Architecture.

Northern Timbers devotes personal attention to each stage of the job from planning to completion, working closely with homeowners and architects to achieve custom homes that reflect the unique tastes of the owner yet remain within the reach of modest budgets.

The Burlington microhome has also been featured on the Jetson Green blog and the Simpler Living blog of the Times Union of Albany, NY.

By Christina Nellemann for the (Tiny House Blog)

Sorry to take so long to get back to you on the Solar Decathlon houses on the mall in DC.

I’d taken pictures, but they didn’t turn out so great what with all the crowds. As it happens, the solar decathlon webpage has some great videos for each house on the front page that do a far better job of showing off the houses than I could.

Team Germany was just announced the winner, though my favorite was Team Louisiana’s Beausoleil house. They plan on marketing the houses as modular homes in the next couple of years with a price around $120,000 including the solar panels.

The maximum size limit for the houses was 800 square feet and they all had to be off the grid/independent.

There is some fantastic design going on here. Each house has a separate website found by clicking on the team site and then following the link at the top of the page where you can find information on all the technologies and appliances used, including information on the manufacturer.

It is very worth noting that the working drawings/plans for all of the houses are freely available on the site by clicking on the Teams link and selecting the team of interest. The plans link is on the right side.

There is a wealth of information here for all small house enthusiasts. The green/sustainable and off-the-grid aspects are a real bonus.

Thanks Craig for the great information and be sure you check out the website as I only pulled a few of the pictures and one of the videos for this post.

The house is located in Tres Orejas, a small off-grid community one-half hour west of Taos, New Mexico.

Situated on 3/4 acre of desert oasis with outstanding 360° panoramic views of the Sangre de Christo (Rocky Mountains) and Picuris mountain to the east and southeast, with BLM National Forest to the west.

Casa Juan Galan- a beautiful, small (one-bedroom), green solar-home.

Operates on sustainable energy: passive solar heating, off-grid electrical system with solar panels (photovoltaic) & wind generator electricity.

It’s an energy efficient, energy independent home.

Rain and snow water harvesting-catchment system provides water (about 4500 gallons of storage).

Heat is by passive solar and a wood stove. There is a small propane heater in the new bathroom. I have left for extended times in the winter and the house plants have survived on the passive solar alone (temperatures around 0 F).

The house is almost 800 square feet.

There is a tank house and next to it, a covered pavilion—which would be fairly easy to convert to a studio/office, maybe a bedroom.

The house has one bedroom which is a combination studio/bedroom with a queen size loft and a small Mexican chimenea (freestanding fireplace). It has a space to hang clothes. A clothes closet is being built as part–but separate from–the new bathroom. There is another small sleeping loft (or storage space) next to the kitchen.

The bathroom is “in process” and the septic system will be finished in the spring (or ASAP, if sold soon). I have been using a “sawdust flush” composting toilet. The bathtub is large with a shower. All greywater is designed to go to trees and plants

The hot water heater is an Aqua Star propane on demand. I have installed an efficient propane refrigerator. The kitchen stove is a small trailer-type propane 3 burner with oven. The kitchen and dining space are separated by a bar. The living and dining area are separated by a partial wall with an arch.

There are two water holding tanks. One is about 3000 gallons and is in the tank house. The other is 1500 gallons and is freestanding. Roof collection for snow and rainwater is about 890 square feet.

A solar haven with High-Speed Internet, Internet Phone and good Cellular reception available.

A great recession-proof, real estate deal!
For sale by owner Asking: $115,000
email: JuanGalan(at)TresOrejas(dot)com

Visit website for more photos and details.

by Kent Griswold (Tiny House Blog)

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