on tiny homes

You love tiny homes? So do we! Tiny homes can be affordable, energy-efficient, extremely cute, and help address a number of pressing social issues today. There are many resources out there on Tiny Homes. We are not experts on Tiny Homes, but we are happy to share with you some things we learned. If you’re interested, you can purchase the full plans for the PowerHouse here.

 
 

Our tiny house

It cost us [amount TBD] to build the PowerHouse. The most expensive materials were the lithium batteries (~$13,000) used to power the home when the sun isn’t shining, and the custom-built trailer (~$5,700). The solar array, which otherwise would have been the second most expensive component, was donated by ETM Solar Works. We paid one person to build; most of the labor, however, was volunteer. If you built the home yourself, and didn’t go for a solar and battery system, the material cost would be closer to $20,000. 

 
 

Useful Resources

We found the following websites to have useful information on Tiny Homes.

  • hOMe by Gabriella & Tony Morrison - We found the design of this home to be thoughtful and inspired some elements of the PowerHouse.

    Tiny House Basics - vendors of Tiny Homes and trailers

  • TinyLab - Tour of the tiny home used on the Proof is Possible tour, which stopped in Ithaca, and which features many building performance best practices

  • Zyl Vardos - particularly beautiful and striking designs—fun to look at and dream!