Tiny SMART House
Out of many of the world’s tiny homes, the Tiny SMART House has one of the nicest sleeping lofts I’ve ever seen. It’s open and airy with two windows and enough space to even put a few pieces of furniture. The 200 square foot Tiny SMART Houses are built in Albany, Oregon with quality materials and are finished with special details including French doors, wood floors and a tongue and groove ceiling. The homes are mobile and can be delivered to your building site.
The SMART House can be custom designed with several different styles and floor plans like the Oregon Trail and the Montana Cabin and exteriors such as cedar plank or Hardie Plank Lap. You can choose between several different doors, windows, wall styles and extras such as solar panels and a rain catchment system. Company owners Tor Barstad and Nathan Light designed the homes with college students in mind but have been requested to build their homes as guest houses and vacation homes.
The SMART House starts at about $20,000 for the base model and the upgrades for size, materials, design and bathrooms are extra.
Global Sun Oven an Option for Tiny Houses?
If you need a small oven that does not take up lots of space and uses the sun to operate the Global Sun Oven may be what you are looking for. Following are features that make this solar oven stand out and is worth looking at for an oven for your tiny house. The cool thing is that this is also made here in America.
One Piece Collapsible Reflectors
The GLOBAL SUN OVEN® can be set up for use or taken down for storage in a matter of seconds. The reflectors literally fall into place at an angle that allows you to maximize the power of the sun.
The reflectors are made of highly polished, mirror-like anodized aluminum that can be cleaned quickly and easily with glass cleaner, and they will never oxidize or rust.
Spill-Proof Levelator
There is never any need to worry about your food spilling in a GLOBAL SUN OVEN®. While cooking, your food rests on a shelf that self adjusts to always stay level as you refocus.
Easy Temperature Monitoring
A built in thermometer allows you know the temperature at a glance.
Self-Contained Leveling Leg
As the sun is at different points on the horizon the GLOBAL SUN OVEN® can readily be adjusted to follow it. A simple adjusting leg allows you to choose from 9 angled positions.
Extremely Well Insulated
A thick batt of non-toxic insulation retains heat. Food cooked in the sun and left in the oven will remain hot for hours. Cold air is held out allowing the GLOBAL SUN OVEN® to be used on sunny days year around regardless of the ambient temperature.
Light Weight, Easy to Carry
The GLOBAL SUN OVEN® weighs only 21 pounds (9.5 kg), folds up like a suitcase, and is equipped with a handle for easy transport.
To learn more visit http://www.sunoven.com
I have also seen a couple of videos on Youtube for building your own sun oven so this could also be an option.
Watch how it works in the videos below.
The Birdhouse
By Andrea Bird
(Before conversion) So a little about the Birdhouse. We bought a garden shed from kijiji and started converting it to a house in 2009. It sits on a beautiful 12 acre piece of land in Eastern Canada. I started this project with my son (now 10) in an effort to spend more time in nature, be more aware of our consumption, save some money, and most importantly, spend time together outside the trappings of the “connected” life. It has really worked, as the one thing I’ve noticed about living in a tiny house, is that the yard is really big, and the indoor space becomes secondary to the landscape around us.
The main room is about 12 ft x 9 ft including the kitchen and living space. The sofa is a futon that acts as a guest bed on sleepover nights. There is a pocket door that separates the main room from my son’s room, a 6 ft x 6 ft bedroom that somehow stores his clothes, toys and bed. The bed is on hinges so you can clear the floor space to play. Children absolutely love this house, I think there is something in the scale of it that makes it very comfortable for them. Continue Reading »
Ellen’s Tiny House
Ellen Dawson-Witt was recently featured in her local newspaper because of her tiny house and her downshifted life. Ellen’s 192 square foot house is located on her property in Yellow Springs, Ohio where she grows some of her own food and carries water from a well for washing, uses solar panels for a lamp, CD player and laptop and uses a composting toilet. She does her cooking on a gas range from 1934.
Dawson-Witt, a freelance editor and government contractor, has avoided television and fashion and wanted to live her life like that of Henry David Thoreau.
“I wanted to live deliberately and to not be on automatic pilot,” she said. “I wanted to be connected to the elements.”
However, she is not able to live in her tiny house full-time. The county in which the home is located does not allow full-time living in a home without indoor plumbing. She keeps another house close to her work.
Inside the tiny house, there are three chairs, one table, one desk, a kitchen cabinet from the 1920s, one bookcase, a loft with one bed and one small chest that contains an extra blanket. About 75 percent of all she owns fits in the tiny house. (Ironically, she has a whole shelf of books on voluntary simplicity, she said.) She has her clothes and a file drawer in her other house and her tools and camping gear in a nearby shed.
Dawson-Witt will be leading a seven-week discussion on sustainability at her tiny house. The sessions started on October 4, 2011. Her talks will cover simplicity, ecology, food, money and more for those who want to live more lightly on the earth. Continue Reading »
Solar Bottle Lights and Tiny Houses
Celia brought this exciting movie to my attention and although it is focused on people in the Philippines and 3rd world countries there is no reason this technology could not be applied to tiny houses, sheds, and work spaces.
In a time where everyone is striving to ‘go green,’ even people in developed countries can use this innovative solution wherever applicable. Using recycled plastic soda bottles, water, and chlorine and inserting it through a roof you can make a simple 55 watt bulb to light up any area. Think how much electricity could be saved if this was applied across our own country!
Solar Decathlon
The annual Solar Decathlon is this next week from September 23 to October 2. Located on the National Mall, West Potomac Park in Washington D.C. If you live close it would be very interesting to visit. I wish I could get out there.
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency. For complete information visit the Solar Decathlon website.
