I’ve been wanting to get around to this for a while. It was very difficult to figure out how we would heat and cool our tiny space, and how to have hot water. Our builder offered some options on the water heater, but after have lived with an on-demand water heater, we decided that was the option for us. I did not want to give any precious space to a bulky water heater, space is at a premium. Also, the on-demand water heaters are very efficient. You are not heating water all day just do do a load of dishes or a 6 minute hot shower. So this was our choice:
You can get it HERE for $269.00
We moved into the home in July, it was a toaster in here. So, for cooling, we first sealed up all drafts, and caulked around windows and doors, We went with a small 110 window unit in the living room, and another in the bedroom. They work just fine, maintaining the house at 76 degrees during the day (we can get it cooler – just don’t want to waste money or resources) and 72 degrees at night. Our electric bill for the house is around $45.00 in the hottest part of the summer.
Heating was another matter. It was MISERABLE until we found our solution. As most tiny home owners know, it is very difficult to heat a small space. The idea of using portable, electric, space heaters was NOT COOL. I had nightmares of a tinderbox….. Plus, they just do not keep it warm. So, after much searching, the answer was at our local gas company. We found a VENTED gas space heater, much like this:
I emphasize VENTED because an unvented heater can be dangerous, as well as illegal in a small space like ours. I need to qualify this. Unvented gas heaters are safe and legal in many areas, but not in a 320 square foot home . I say ‘like this’ because ours is no longer available. You can get it HERE. Life was good after it was finally installed. The gas bill runs about $25.00 for 4 months a year, the rest of the year we do not consume gas as the house is otherwise all electric.
A tad homely, I will NEVER complain about our little heater. It heats the whole house. Obviously, there are logistical issues with the heat wanting to bunch up in one cozy room, (don’t we all). So we solved that issue by creating a ‘chase’ with 1 x 8 boards that run through the bathroom, and the closet. We then installed an ‘inline’ duct fan like this one":
You can get one HERE
And Now, life is good. I love my tiny home.
That being said – does anyone out there have any tips or tricks for me and other tiny house dwellers? I’d love to hear them!
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4 comments:
Can you clarify why you think the vent-free are dangerous or illegal? Almost every state allows vent-free heaters (I looked it up before we got ours) and according to the heating/air-conditioning company that installed ours, they are perfectly safe. Most, like ours, have a low-oxygen automatic shut-off and we keep a carbon monoxide detector in the same room.
We wanted to stay away from direct vent as we live in an old brick converted one-room schoolhouse and we didn't want to destroy a section of brick to put in a vent plus at the time we couldn't afford the installation costs to have that done - it cost enough just to have them run 3 feet of pipe to hook up the LP.
By the way, your eco-smart link doesn't work (neither does 90% of the links on their page).
You are right, Lori! Sorry - I fixed my post. my world is small, so I should not speak for everyone. The gas company, nor our local inspector would allow an unvented heater in our small space. I needed to qualify that statement, and I just did (in the post). Thank you for pointing that out.
I just checked the Eco Smart link, it seems to be working - ??
Wise choices...and those bills are a shock to many I can imagine who are paying huge bills...it just seems so wise to me to live in just enough space to accommodate a family.....why heat and cool a very large home if only a portion of the home is really being used. It seems such a waste all the way around in my opinion. It just makes sense to down size as your family has....I hope more folks will catch on to this idea. Thanks for sharing this blog....blessings
Strange, I was getting all 404-not found errors on the eco-smart website earlier.
Thanks for your clarification on the heater. We bought a vent-free LP plaque heater and it has been a huge money saver from our ancient 35% efficient furnace. We'd still like to get a high-efficiency furnace someday, but a year of my husband being unemployed has prohibited that.
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