Tiny houses, self-converted campervans and other cool off-grid homes. You see them more and more beautiful places these days on Instagram, hip blogs and even the news. Great initiatives with a lot of potential. We’ve listed a few for you to inspire you. And you also immediately learn which installations are required for these alternative homes. We picked out a few cool projects for you. If you miss a project, please let us know. We are happy to add to this list! For more information visit DHA Files.
CAMPERVAN THE ROLLING HOME
They have written several great books, their own magazine and a successful Instagram account. With their vintage Volkswagen bus (1996 T4 Transporter) Lauren & Calum from the UK travel all over Europe, while living completely off grid. They now build several autarkic campervans for others and rent out the mobile homes. Their own campervan has no toilet on board. But they do use different systems for electricity, heating and water.
- A solar panel with battery system provides the electricity.
- They have a filter for the drinking water, which they collect through rain?
- They can also shower from that water under their built-in outdoor shower.
- They generate the heat in the campervan with a parking heater.
- They use a gas cylinder for cooking.
OFF GRID LIVING ON A MOUNTAIN
Snowboarder Mike Basich has designed a beautiful and completely self-sufficient house. He lives on top of a mountain where it snows almost all year round. There he can do exactly where his heart is all year round: snowboarding! His house is 21 square meters and that is all he needs. In addition, he has a hot tub outside in which he can bathe wonderfully. This hot tub is kept warm by wood. He further heats his house with the oven, but the large glass windows also ensure that the heat of the sun enters. That is really off grid living. He built his house with stones he found in the area and he specifically looked at the weather to determine the beautiful places for his house. He uses the following systems:
- He heats his house with the wood stove, he cooks and he can take a hot shower.
- A 200 liter water tank (it is located under the house, because it does not freeze there).
- A 12 volt system for charging equipment.
- The solar panels with batteries provide electricity.
- And the nice hot tub heats itself on the basis of wood.
SLEEP UNDER THE STARS
These small houses are built in the shape of a glass igloo. This way you can look at the beautiful starry sky at night and maybe even catch a glimpse of the northern lights! You can find them in Finland at the Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort. The entire project is built with sustainable materials. They have even won awards for this. We are not surprised about that. But how are these crazy houses provided with electricity and heat? Unlike the other houses in this article, these beautiful places accommodations are connected to an electricity and water connection. These small houses are therefore not autarkic (off grid). But if you are looking for a special stay in the Arctic Wilderness and want to sleep under the stars, this is the place to be!
HERMIT HOUSE
This beautiful house, designed by Woonpioniers , is located in the Dutch forests of Ermelo! No one lives in the tiny house permanently, but you can experience the autarkic lifestyle for a while by renting the house via Natuurhuisje . We installed the off grid systems for Hermit House. A Panasonic HIT solar panel provides the electricity. If it is not possible to generate enough solar energy for a while, batteries and a smart control system ensure that the system switches to mains power. This makes the house almost completely autarkic (off grid). By also connecting the system to the existing power supply, the system can remain small. You don’t need a battery to store the energy.We will be happy to add a location to this soon. Namely one where the ECO cabin is located, preferably in the form of a complete neighborhood.
Author Bio
I am Priya Varma, and I have been working as Content Writer at Rananjay Exports for past 2 years. My expertise lies in researching and writing both technical and fashion content. I have written multiple articles on Gemstone Jewelry like Moonstone Jewelry and other stones over the past years and would love to explore more on the same in future. I hope my work keeps mesmerizing you and helps you in the future.