The Off-Grid Tiny House: Sustainability in Action
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The Off-Grid Tiny House: Sustainability in Action

Tiny house living is one the biggest things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint.
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By Scott Rank
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A growing movement of eco-conscious urban dwellers are rejecting consumerism, embracing minimalism and sufficiency, and trading in expensive dwellings for an off-grid tiny house. The options for such houses are growing (there are even groupings of tiny houses being tested as an aid for homelessness) and some are embracing the ultimate freedom of living completely off the grid in their off-grid tiny houses. 

There are many factors to consider when making such a move. How do you handle practical utilities issues like plumbing, electricity, sewage, and water? What are the challenges that come with living in an off-grid tiny house? How handy do you have to be to overcome the challenges that will inevitably come? What do you do about appliances that require electricity but you can't live without? 

The good news is that you do not have to be a complete hermit to live in an off-grid tiny house, nor do you have to adopt an Amish lifestyle and completely forsake electricity. New solar powered devices are coming to market that make living off the grid easier than ever. 

According to a profile from Sharable, off-grid tiny houses are a good way to reduce your ecological footprint, save money, spend practically zero dollars on utilities, and lead an overall less stressful life. They spoke with small house dweller Merete Mueller about this lifestyle.

“One benefit to tiny house living,” says Mueller, “is that it frees up the money, time and energy that would otherwise be spent on maintaining a house and rent or a mortgage, to be used on other things, like working on creative projects, starting a business, spending time with friends and family, or on other hobbies that bring a lot of satisfaction to one’s life.”
She points out that with tiny house, off-the-grid living, the drawbacks can be the same as the benefits.
“One obvious challenge is a minimal amount of space inside,” she says, “But one benefit related to that is being forced to spend more time outside, and being forced to simplify possessions and think about which things matter most.”
Emptying the composting toilet, hauling water and the other “challenges” that come with tiny, off-the-grid living were, for Mueller, part of the allure. “We wanted to know and understand,” she says, “exactly how much water we were consuming.”
As you can see, there are many benefits to living in an off-grid tiny house. And if you know anything about GoSun, you know that we make some of the best solar powered appliances for off-grid living that can cook your food, provide refrigeration, and even charge your phone.

 

This article is part of our larger information resource on off-grid tiny house living. Please click here to learn more.

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