Author: Cassandra Hui

Living in and building off-grid tiny homes

15 Tips for Tiny House Living; From Years of Experience

This article has been reviewed in accordance with our editorial policy.

My husband and I have been living tiny for almost 4 years now. We have had a lot of people ask us for tips and how they can go tiny as well. So I wanted to take the time to give everyone some tricks and advise for going tiny.

15 Tips for Tiny House Living

  1. Downsize with These Tips
  2. Have These 4 Storage Areas
  3. Choose Some Dark Colors
  4. Have a Coat Closet
  5. Buy Cheap Floors
  6. Use a Fold Out Table
  7. Use Fold Up Chairs
  8. Make Lists for Shopping
  9. Organize Your Stuff Monthly
  10. Declutter Once a Year
  11. Buy a Lug Nut Covering Wheel Lock
  12. Use Cleaning Vinegar
  13. Keep Important Documents Organized
  14. Keep a Box of Useful Items
  15. Get Window Shades

1. Downsize with These Tips

Downsizing is always a big concern for people who want to go tiny. The biggest change in living tiny is having less space and thus, less stuff. Here are some tricks you can use to help yourself downsize.

1. Have a Friend Help You

One of the big problems I have found people to have is the inability to know what to downsize. Even if you have four similar items, it can be hard to determine if you really don’t need them.

Having an outsider opinion can help you drastically. Since they do not see what you own every day, they did not buy it, and they do not feel an emotional attachment to it.

Be sure to chose a friend who is either a minimalist or has a similar mindset. They can help you determine what you will actually use and what you will not.

2. Mark Your Items with Tape

This is the best way to actually see what you use frequently. Place a piece of tape on everything you own, it’s best to color code, and then take it off when you use the item.

After just a couple months you will really see a pattern. We tend to use the same items over and over again, even if we have other options. This is an efficient way to visualize what you actually need.

3. Touch Each Item

Another popular way of downsizing is by feeling your items. If you feel happy when you touch it, than keep it. If you don’t feel excited about it, than you probably need to get rid of it.

A huge bonus to living tiny is that, since you don’t own many things, you can own all of your favorite things. When I need something, I buy something I love.

I don’t need things very often, and I keep them until they are broken. But when I do buy something, I get exactly what I want. Every day I wear my favorite clothes, I use my favorite dishes, and sleep with my favorite blanket.

2. Have These 4 Storage Areas

Storage is key to living tiny. You do not need lots of things, but you do need a place to keep the things you have. I have found that there are a few key storage areas you will need.

1. “Rarely Used” Storage–Large

This is where you will keep things you need on occasion or seasonally. Here we keep snow boards, a back up propane heater, Christmas tree, fancy occasion outfits, a suitcase, a dog cone, extra blanket, and some seasonal clothes.

2. Bathroom Storage–Medium to Small

This does not have to be in your bathroom, this is just what I call it, based on the type of things you store. Here we store bathroom supplies, dog stuff, cleaning supplies, gym stuff, laundry stuff, and some extras like bug spray.

3. Clothing Storage–Medium to Small

Obviously, you need a good place to store your clothes. Keep in mind your dirty clothes too, have a hamper in a convenient location. We either have a closet to hang our clothes and a small sock drawer or we have a dresser.

4. Kitchen Storage–Medium

This will be the area you store everything else, including things you use a lot. Of course we store food and cooking supplies in our kitchen but we also store paperwork, pens, books, scissors, keys, bags, remotes, medicine, and so on.

3. Choose Some Dark Colors

People often say having light colors makes the room feel open. That is not the case. Having a dark wall makes it feel as if that is open space. It is a better idea to use some dark colors if you want the space to feel open.

4. Have a Coat Closet

The one thing we always forget about, when designing a home, is where to put our coats. This may seem minor, until you have a pile of bulky coats that you don’t know where to put.

Ideally having a coat closet would be best. However, you can also just use some wall hooks in a well placed area. We have some coat hooks by the door, over our laundry hamper and the wall hooks for our chairs.

5. Buy Cheap Floors

This one depends on your lifestyle. Keep in mind that the floors in a tiny house get much more wear on them than a regular home. This is because you have less floor space to do different things.

We have five dogs in our tiny house and the floors are always the first thing to get ruined. In a tiny house floors are relatively cheap to replace. If you live around a lot of dirt, have pets, or plan on moving around in your tiny house, I would definitely recommend getting cheap floors. Then you will not be so heart broken when they get ruined.

6. Use a Fold Out Table

We have a fold out table that I use all the time for work, school, dinner, or anything else.

7. Use Fold Up Chairs

Such a huge space saver!

8. Make Lists for Shopping

This is key when doing any kind of shopping, whether it’s clothes, food, supplies, or anything else. Make a list of what you need and stick to it, this will help you avoid buying something you already have or something you don’t have room for anyway.

9. Organize Your Stuff Monthly

Ideally you should do this once a week. Things tend toward disorder. I usually organize a drawer or small area once a week. If I am too busy I will take a few hours once a month and organize a larger area.

This is key to maintaining a happy life in a tiny house. It is so easy for things to get out of order and become difficult to live around. It is a lot easier to organize your stuff constantly when you don’t have very much. Keep it that way!

10. Declutter Once a Year

At least once a year, sometimes every six months, my husband and I go through all of our stuff. We sort through and get rid of anything we are no longer using or is too worn out. This is easy to do when you have a tiny house and not a lot of stuff.

You need to stay consistent at this or you will have too many things to fit in a tiny house. Things always seem to accumulate and it is important dispose of or donate things you don’t use.

We have been living tiny for almost four years and we really don’t buy much anymore. However, I am still amazed at the amount of things I find in my tiny house, each year, that I do not use.

I was shocked when we had been living in a 7′ x 14′ for under 6 months and I still found a black trash bag full of things we did not use or that were broken. Even if you do not live in a tiny house, staying on top of this will help you stay way more organized.

11. Buy a Lug Nut Covering Wheel Lock

This is essential if you have a tiny house on wheels (THOW) and still have the wheels on it. I have heard so many horror stories of people driving off with someone’s home.

This is your home and it has all of your pets and belongings in it. Getting a good wheel lock is an additional safety measure. You can also install a GPS in your house, but I would still recommend a wheel lock.

Get a wheel lock that covers the lug nuts too. Most THOWs are on a dual axle trailer. If you just put a simple wheel lock on it, the thief can still take the tire off, pull out the axle, and drive away with the other axle in tact. Also, these wheel locks are usually a little more heavy and harder to cut off.

12. Use Cleaning Vinegar

I recommend using cleaning vinegar or white vinegar to do almost all of your cleaning. Cleaning vinegar is more acidic, but otherwise they work the same way.

You can use this for most types of cleaning and it will save space in your house, by not needing 4 different options. Also, most composting toilets recommend that you use vinegar to clean the toilet, so it is something you may already be buying.

13. Keep Important Documents Organized

There may not be a lot of space in your home and you have to decide where to store things you don’t use often. However, keep you important paperwork somewhere you can always find it.

I cannot remember how many times it was a life saver to know exactly where my documents were, whether we were moving, traveling, or just living daily life.

Knowing exactly where your important paperwork is and having it organized, will not only come in useful, but it will also give you peace of mind.

There are some little things like this that you need to think about when living tiny. You will not likely have a home office or even a cabinet dedicated to paperwork. But it is critical that you keep it safe and organized. Do not let things like this get lost in your extra storage.

14. Keep a Box of Useful Items

This has been a life saver for me many times. Not only is it useful to have this box when you need it, but it also eliminates you having to buy the same thing over and over.

Everyone’s box will be a little different, it will be designed to fit them.

My box has packaging tape (every year I send Christmas presents to my family), a stapler, envelopes, stamps, an eraser, tape, and so on. This is important to keep organized as well.

15. Get Window Shades

This seems so small but makes such a big difference. Living in a tiny house is different than a larger home in that you always feel like you are close to being outside.

This is usually a great thing, I love feeling like I’m on a porch while watching the rain. However, I do not want to feel like my neighbors can always see me. Having curtains up can help give you more privacy.

Specialized Tinys, LLC

That is it for today, but if you felt like this helped you then check out more on our site to see real insider tips and information from someone who actually lives tiny!

How Long Do Families Live in Tiny Houses?

This article has been reviewed in accordance with our editorial policy.

The tiny house trend has been popular for about 5 years now. And there are still lots of questions, for example; How long do families actually live in tiny houses? This can be hard to answer since there is not a solid way to collect this data.

So, how long do families live in tiny houses? A recent poll of people currently living tiny showed that over 50% of them have been living in a tiny house for 1-4 years. This would align with around the time tiny houses grew in popularity. However, some families have been living tiny for much longer.

My husband and I have been living tiny for almost 4 years now! So we fit in the majority. We have lots of people ask us about tiny house life and we want the internet to have a been understanding from an informed source.

How Long Do Families Live in Tiny Houses?

How long people actually live in their tiny houses is a big question on the internet. However, it is difficult to get this data, since tiny houses are not titled and sold like regular houses. Also, a lot of tiny housers live off-grid.

We cannot pull deed records or view almost any recorded data for these homes. Even if you are able to look at when the houses were built you cannot get a record of used sales for many, if not most, tiny houses.

In order to still provide as accurate data as possible, Specialized Tinys, LLC conducted a survey to find out more information about tiny housers.

A recent survey of people who are living in tiny houses revealed that over 50% of tiny housers have lived tiny for 1-4 years. And over 27% have lived tiny for more than 4 years.

All rights reserved, this site and its contents are copyright © 2020 and onward of Specialized Tinys, LLC.*

The survey showed that out of those who are living tiny, 17.3% have been doing it less than a year, 28% for 1-2 years, 28% for 2-4 years, 10.7% for 4-6 years, 8% for 6-9 years, and 8% for over 9 years.

With this data, we can say that it is likely that a lot of people who go tiny stay tiny. If this were not the case then most of the participants would have been in the “less than a year” category.

Many people go tiny to STAY tiny. Data shows that over 1/4th of tiny housers have been living tiny for over 4 years. And still over half of those tiny housers have lived tiny for over 6 years!

According to a report by Tiny Society in 2018, 2 out of 5 tiny housers are over 50 years old. Lots of older people are deciding to live tiny for the cost and convenience.

It can get tiresome to be cleaning and maintaining a large house for years. Also, after your children have moved out of the house you don’t always need the space.

But also there are lots of younger people who want to live in a tiny house for a long time, if not forever. They are starting to see how much money they can save, by not buying a big house or owning lots of stuff.

You can even get tiny houses with two bedrooms to accommodate families. This way you can own a small home and stay out of debt or even spend more time traveling with your family.

According to Tiny Society in 2018, it was reported that 89% of tiny house owners maintain less debt from credit cards than the typical American. It was also reported that 60% of people who live tiny have absolutely no credit card debt, and moreover 55% of people who live tiny also have larger savings accounts than the average homeowner.

Additionally, they also reported that 68% of tiny housers don’t even have a mortgage. There are lots of reasons to live in a tiny house permanently, whether it’s the money, environmental footprint, or even having less housework.

However, there are a lot of people who only plan on staying in a tiny house for a couple of years. Just under half of the tiny housers haven’t lived in their house for over 2 years yet.

I have heard a lot of young couples say they want to live tiny for a couple of years to save money for a house. And this isn’t just young couples. I have heard lots of people say they want to go tiny for a few years to save money or prepare for another part of life.

Or people want to be able to travel around for a couple of years and then come home. There is a huge appeal to go tiny in order to travel around, you can spend a year or two exploring an entire country.

There are lots of reasons to go tiny! Some reasons are permanent and some of them are not. Living tiny is a lifestyle that is amenable to fit most people.

How Many People Live in a Tiny House?

All rights reserved, this site and its contents are copyright © 2020 and onward of Specialized Tinys, LLC.*

Another question we are all wondering; “How many people live in a tiny house?” The graph above shows data recently collected from current tiny house owners.

The data shows that 30.4% of tiny housers live by themselves, 47.8% have 2 people in the house, 8.7% have 3, 4.3% have 4, and 8.7% have 5 or more people living in their tiny house.

Almost half of tiny houses have two people living in them, this is definitely the majority. And the second most popular option is living by yourself, with 30% of tiny housers doing this.

But still, over 20% of tiny housers are living with their family. Going tiny doesn’t mean you have to live by yourself. You can have a family in a tiny house too.

Even more interesting, out of these respondents, 82.6% of tiny house owners have pets in their house too. Most people who go tiny, do so with at least one pet.

The data showed that 60.9% of them had at least one cat, and 47.8% had at least one dog. However, 65.2% of tiny housers have more than one pet in their house, compared to only 17.4% of all tiny housers only have one pet living with them.

A small house can hold as much happiness as a big one.

Fortune cookie

A fortune cookie once said a small house can hold as much happiness as a big one. Tiny houses are for all different types of people and all different amounts of them.

Whether you live by yourself or you have a family, you can still go tiny. The majority of tiny housers are couples, but there are still lots of other types. And almost all of them have fur friends living with them too.

Where are Tiny Houses Located?

As tiny houses grow in popularity, their locations are expanding. Tiny houses can be found all over the world. America is starting to grow in popularity and lots of places are becoming accepting of tiny houses.

Lots of tiny houses travel as well. We have lived in 5 states in our tiny house. It can be hard to pinpoint where a lot of tiny houses are actually located, especially ones that live off the grid.

However, in America, an over representative amount of tiny houses are located in California and Florida. The next most popular states are Oregon, Washington, and Colorado.

Tiny House Statistics

Let’s take a look at some tiny house facts. All of the following statistics are from tiny society.

On average tiny houses are 100-400 square feet in size.

The average mortgage for a tiny house is around $50,000, and for a standard homeowner, it is around $250,000. Only 68% of tiny housers have a mortgage.

In 1983, the average home was 1,725 square feet and in 2013 it was reported to be 2,598. That’s over a 50% increase in just 20 years.

144 tiny houses can fit inside a football field, 17,424 tiny houses can fit inside Disneyland California, and 2,020 tiny houses can fit on the Golden Gate Bridge.

There was very low interest in tiny houses in 2004, but there has been a steady increase ever since. Tiny houses reached about 30% of their popularity in 2014, over 10 years. Then interest doubled in one year, reaching 70% in 2015, and it has been steadily increasing since.

The average listing price on tinyhouselistings.com was $46,300.

Homes beneath the 500 square feet range are appreciating twice as fast as the overall market, according to realtor.com (19% vs. 9%).

Including tiny houses built on a foundation, then the average price is $119,000, according to realtor.com.

Why Look at Tiny House Statistics?

Let’s face it, tiny houses are not going away. They have been increasing in popularity for several years now. And even before that lots of people lived in their RVs or other small homes.

Understanding the increasing desire for tiny houses will help laws and regulations be adjusted to fit them in as well. We cannot advocate for tiny houses if we do not understand the people that live in them.

Understanding how others live tiny and why may help us understand more about how we can do the same or even achieve similar goals. There are many ways and reasons to live tiny, to fit most lifestyles.

Why We Went Tiny

My husband and I decided to go tiny almost 4 years ago. We were living in Vegas at the time and my husband saw a tiny house on TV. Soon after he was obsessed.

Frankly, I was not very interested, but he was constantly looking up tiny houses and ideas. One thing I absolutely love about my husband is that he never stops learning.

When people get home from work and are watching TV, my husband is researching and learning something new. He has taught himself almost everything you need to know about solar off of YouTube!

So the research continued. One day he finally came to me and said he wanted to build a tiny house. I said no. But then he brought it up again, and again.

Soon we started to talk about the idea. We wanted to buy a home, instead of renting, but we also were planning on moving frequently. So it seemed like too much stress to buy and sell a house in a year.

My husband knew that he could build a tiny house himself, and then we would own something and not have to rent. Plus we could continue to move it with us.

Owning a self-sustainable house for around $30,000 is what sold me. It was really a perfect idea for us. At that time I got a great promotion and moved to Utah for the job.

My husband stayed in Vegas for another 4 months to build our home. He worked nonstop, spending every weekend and evening on our home. He had some help from a couple of friends, but he built most of our house in 4 months, while still working a full-time job.

We moved into it before it was quite finished, and worked on it as we lived in it. Some things were harder than we thought they would be and some things were easier.

We found land to stay on in Utah and a year later we moved to Virginia. We stayed there for 17 months and then moved to the Pacific Northwest. And six months later we moved to northern Nevada.

Living tiny has allowed us to do lots of things that would have not otherwise been feasible. We’ve seen so many places living tiny and it has allowed us to save so much money. It was the perfect idea for us.

Related Questions

Do people live in tiny houses? Lots of people live in tiny houses. As they grow in popularity, more and more are starting to understand the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of living in something smaller. I have heard so many people say they could never go tiny, and then after seeing my house, say the complete opposite.

How much does it cost to live in a tiny house? The cost of living in a tiny house varies considerably depending on if you are financing the house, paying a lot rent, or own everything free and clear. Lot rent for tiny houses is around $500 on average. However, the daily cost of living tiny will likely be much cheaper than a regular home, due to less space to heat, cheaper property tax, and more.

* Survey conducted in December 2019 by Specialized Tinys.

How to Heat a Tiny House: 8 Options with Pros and Cons

This article has been reviewed in accordance with our editorial policy.

Heating a tiny house may prove to be more involved than it sounds. With so many options it can be difficult to determine which option is best for you.

So, how do you heat a tiny house? There are several options for heating a tiny house. One of the most common is a mini split, this is similar to central air and heat, but it is a single unit built for a large room. Many tiny houses also have a wood stove as a primary source of heat, especially for those that are off-grid. There are several other options as well.

My husband and I have been living tiny for almost 4 years now and we want to share our knowledge with others. We have used a few different options for our heat sources, so let’s look at the pros and cons.

Mini Splits for a Tiny House

On-Grid Systems for Primary Heat

Mini splits are one of the most common heating method for tiny houses due to their convenience and simplicity, especially for those on the grid.

Pros

  • Convenience: You can set a temperature, you can set a timer, you don’t need to mess with it at all if you don’t want it.
  • Features: They also have air conditioning, a fan, and other options.
  • Visually Appealing: They are typically a white rectangular box that looks very modern.
  • Size and Space: It is small enough it can fit in most tiny houses and is mounted high up on the wall, so it does not interfere with your space.

Cons

  • Price: The good ones are pricey, all of them are around $500-$2,000.
  • Power Usage: The more expensive units are better on power, however compared to other types of heat, they use a lot of power.

When getting a mini split for a tiny house you should get SEER rating of 20 and above. This is the efficiency rating for the unit and anything less than that is not recommended.

Important Note: If you are using your mini split for heat in the winter you will need to select the “follow me” mode on the remote and leave it at counter top height. The mini split will automatically turn off when the air around it reaches the temperature you set. Since these units are installed near the ceiling and heat rises, they will cut off when your house is still very cold. Selecting the “follow me” mode means that the mini split will turn off when it reaches the correct temperature around the remote.

Mini splits are most commonly known for their convenient air conditioning in tiny houses. However, most mini splits also offer heat as well. These are simple, sleek, convenient and easy to use.

You can set a temperature or a time to turn on and leave it alone. It is the most similar to central heat and air that a tiny house can get, since the house would be too small to actually install the central heat and air ducts.

They are very attractive and modern looking as well. They look like a white box placed up higher in the room. These are in most tiny houses on wheels, but other tiny houses use them too.

The cost ranges on mini splits, it is better to spend a little more on a nicer one rather than trying to cut costs here. The cheaper ones may look similar to the costly ones, however they will use more power.

The downfall of mini splits is their power usage. Whether you are concerned about your environmental footprint or your solar power, a mini split will use a lot of power.

Wood Stoves for a Tiny House

Off -Grid Systems

Pros

  • Power Usage: Can use a little power if you plug in a blower, otherwise most do not use any power.
  • Abundant Fuel Source: Even if your power goes out you can still have heat and you can burn any extra wood you have.
  • Heat: You get very hot heat!

Cons

  • Price: Wood stoves are expensive, especially if you are buying a small one!
  • Getting Wood: You will either have to cut or buy wood. The cost of buying wood is usually a lot cheaper than your electricity bill if you have electric heat.
  • Maintaining a Fire: Especially with the small stoves.

Recently, a few companies have been making tiny wood stoves perfect for tiny houses. They are small and simple and people love them. But they are not perfect. Thy are pricey (around $1,000) and you have to be sure to maintain your fire constantly.

Also these stoves have very small stove pipe, which is extremely hard to get, you will likely have to order it form those companies. Moreover, you will have to clean your pipes a lot more often due to how small the stove pipe actually is and the build up that accrues.

But wood stoves are still one of the best options. One of the best features is that they will still heat without power! If anything happens and you lose power you can still have heat.

Lots of people use wood stoves as their main source of heat throughout the winter and they are probably just as popular as mini splits. We have used a wood stove in two of our houses in very cold climates and they worked great.

Wood stoves are so common in tiny houses for multiple reasons. Who wouldn’t want to curl up by a warm beautiful fire glow and a chestnut smoke smell in your cozy tiny house?

They are beautiful, classic, and great at heating! We have often had to open our windows because the fire was so hot. This is one of the hottest sources of heat you can get!

And it can be very cost effective in your daily life. After the initial cost of the stove all you need it wood. If you live somewhere you can cut your own than you wouldn’t have a heating bill at all.

If you need to buy wood and live in a wooded area than it can be relatively cheap to buy the wood you will need to for the winter. The year we spent in Utah, we paid $300 for wood for that winter.

Air Heaters (Diesel or Propane)

On- or Off-Grid Systems

Pros

  • Price: You can find some cheap options that work relatively well. They are also relatively cheap to run throughout the year, you buy a couple gallons of diesel once or twice a week.
  • Convenient: You can set a temperate and a turn on time. However, it will not turn itself on and off, unless you buy the name brand models. It will only get higher and lower in temperature.
  • Size: They will fit in any tiny house.
  • Power Efficient: They use very little power.

Cons

  • Difficult to Fix: The cheap models are manufactured in China, so if you live in America or most other countries you will have a hard time finding parts, or someone who can work on them. (Unless it is a true Espar or Webasto heater, then you can take them into a Semi truck shop and they will fix it or put you in contact with someone who can.)
  • Maintenance: Every year you need to clean out the fuel tank and before the winter you need to clean out the actual unit.

Air heaters use an air exchanger which draws fresh air from outside or air from inside, and then passes it over an aluminum block with fins, which heats the air. The exhaust and intake of the combustion unit are located outside, thus no concern for carbon monoxide.

These come in two different options: diesel or propane. You can buy them off of Amazon for relatively cheap. Unless you want to buy one of the original name brand units.

The original brands that you see in Semi Trucks are either an Espar or Webasto diesel heater. These heaters are definitely more expensive but last much longer, are almost half the size, and are more efficient.

I love our diesel heater!

I love our diesel heater! This is something not many people have heard about, but they are a great option. Diesel heaters are commonly used in semi trucks for heat overnight, when their truck is off.

I have not heard of many tiny houses that use this as their heat source, but they should start! My husband’s dad has been a truck driver for years and so my husband thought this would be a good option in our newest house, a 14 foot cargo trailer.

We couldn’t fit anything large in this small of a trailer and we were about to live in it during the winter months in Washington state. So we needed something reliable and cost efficient.

Most truck drivers go with a good name brand heater, like Espar. However, they are very expensive. We found a few options of similar air diesel heaters on Amazon with good reviews.

We purchased one of those and it worked great at first. And then it didn’t. We had to keep cleaning it out for it to run at all. We contacted the sellers off of Amazon and they were great, but didn’t totally understand.

They kept offering us partial refunds to pay for someone to fix it. But there is no one in America that works on these heaters. Even though they are actually built quite simply.

After enough time looking at it my husband found that part of the fuel pump was broken. After some searching and fixing the heater worked great again.

We bought another heater from them a year later, the company has made some adjustments and they work even better now. Moral of the story is, be sure that everything it set up correctly and nothing is broken.

The company does allow refunds if yours is broken and the sellers that we went through were great. I would definitely recommend tiny housers use this as a heating option. It keeps our house so warm!

Important Note: Clean out your fuel tank as well a possible at the end of winter. If the fuel is left for the whole year it will split and be difficult to clean and will not work with your heater. Use fresh diesel. You will also need to clean out the unit once a year, before you start using it, to ensure it runs smoothly.

Solar Air Heaters

Off -Grid Systems

Pros

  • Energy Efficient: You can install these on your walls and it does not use any power.

Cons

  • Supplemental Day Heat ONLY: They will not work at night!
  • Price: As with anything solar, the initial cost is expensive, but you do not pay anything else for the heat.
  • Not Enough Space: They can only heat a small space and you may need a couple, even for a tiny house.

Solar air heaters use a series of aluminum tubes, on the outside of your house, that the air is pulled through and sent into your house. The air traveling through the tubes is heated by the sun.

These are great options for sheds, greenhouses, or any places you will be working in during the day. They will not work at night or on really cloudy days.

Anything solar is a popular option with tiny houses. Buying a solar heater allows you to lessen your environmental footprint by not using wood, fuel, or unclean forms of electricity during the day.

They can be expensive for the initial cost, but you do not have as much of a heating bill afterwards. Buying anything solar is typically an investment, it will cost more up front but saves you money over the years.

Also be sure you will have enough sunlight where you live to keep the heat source going. This is ONLY supplemental heat, you will have to have another heat source as well.

Propane Heaters

On- and Off-Grid Systems

Pros

  • Convenient: They easy to get, set up, and use.
  • Price: You can find a lot of cheap options.

Cons

  • Burn up oxygen: Many of the propane heaters, especially the cheaper ones burn the oxygen in your air.
  • Open Flame: Most of these heaters have an open flame, which can be unsafe around children or pets. This can also be a potential fire hazard, especially in such a small space.
  • Not Efficient: They do use a lot of propane.

There are a couple of common propane heaters. Portable cabin heater (like a Mr. Heater) or marine grade propane heaters (like the Dickinson heater). The Dickinson heater is very popular with tiny houses and much better than the cheaper options.

The Dickinson is a vented marine grade unit, so you don’t have to worry about burning oxygen or an open flame, it’s enclosed. However, it is not cheap. They are around $1,000.

There are other common propane heaters that are much cheaper, but again they will have more problems. Most propane heaters are not thermostatically controlled, so you cannot control the temperate in your house.

Radiant Floor Heating in Tiny Houses

On- or Off-Grid Systems

Pros

  • Space: Obviously this does not take up a lot space in your tiny house, since it runs in the floors. But it does take up 2 cubic feet of space for the system.
  • Source: It heats the floors, which are usually the coldest part of the house. Heating the floors also heats the whole structure.

Cons

  • Not Sufficient: You will likely need a back up heat source if you live somewhere cold even though you may not use it very often.
  • Price: The initial cost can be high and you still have a bill for the electric afterwards, however it is not as expensive as an electric heater.

Radiant floor heating is starting to become a popular option, and not just for tiny houses. Having warm floors definitely has an appeal.

This method runs tubes through your floors flied with water and then heats the water when you turn it on. They use a tanked solar heater as well and may other components.

It would be best to have this installed professionally since having a leak can ruin an entire tiny house. Having one of the pipes burst is a legitimate concern.

However, I have not heard of many people saying they have had a leak. If you do get one you would have to replace all the pipes and likely your whole floor.

Another concern is that since this only heats the floor you will need a back up source of heat. However, living in a tiny house is different than a regular house.

I have heard another lady say that she basically only uses her radiant floor heating in the winter. She spend a -25 degree Fahrenheit winter in Colorado and 95% of the winter she only used her radiant floor heating.

I always recommend having a back up heat source if you live somewhere cold, just in case. But especially for this type of heating, since you are only heating the floors.

Other Electric Heaters

On-Grid Systems

Pros

  • Convenient: They are easy to use and can be picked up at a store.
  • Price: They are relatively cheap to purchase.

Cons

  • Space: They are awkward and take up weird places for space.
  • Power: They use a lot of electricity.
  • Overload of the System: These heaters usually overload the system and will flip a breaker.

Some tiny housers who are hooked up to a secure source of power just buy an electric heater because they are easy to use and find. They can be simple to use for your primary heat source.

I would not recommend these for a long term source of heat, but if you just moved into a tiny house and need something. Then these can work for a little while.

However, since there can only be so many circuits in a tiny house, these heaters usually overload the system and flip a barker. They just pull too much power for you be running other electronics off of the same circuit.

Definitely invest in another heat source rather than just pure electric heaters. They are simple and easy to buy, but it will benefit you in the long run to invest in something else and will make for a more cozy tiny house.

If you are in need I recommend grabbing a propane heater instead of an electric heater, especially if you run off of solar. Electric heaters use a lot of power and is a very inefficient way to produce heat.

Pellet Stove

On- or Off-Grid

Pros

  • Consistent Heat: They will run as long as you keep them filled, no need to restart a fire. All of them are thermostat controlled.

Cons

  • Price: They are expensive and still use electricity and pellets to run.
  • Space: They are usually large and take up room, accounting for the clearances they require, it will be too big for a lot of tiny houses.
  • Power Usage: Consistently pulls power .
  • Getting Pellets Constantly: You will always need to get pellets for your stove.

They do have some wall hung pellet stoves, but these are VERY expensive. And you still have to buy pellets and pay for electricity. And most of them will not run without power, unlike a wood stove. So if you lose power, you lose heat.

It is very unlikely that you will see a pellet stove in a tiny house. I bring this one up because I have had many people ask me about these. Pellet stoves are not really tiny house friendly.

Pellets stoves are a great source of heat, you get all the benefits of a wood stove without having to start a fire everyday. As long as you keep the pellets full you do not have to worry about your fire going out.

But these are usually too large for a tiny house. And with the clearances they require it will take up a lot of room.

We looked into getting one of these for our house before. They seem convent and we love the type of heat you get from a wood stove. But pellet stoves do use a lot of power.

They require electricity to keep ruining and monitor temperature. You would be buying pellets and paying for electricity. Given that we live off of solar we are very cautious about our power usage anyway.

Always Have a Back Up Heat Source

I remember living in Utah and waking up to -3 degrees Fahrenheit. We were not completely prepared when we first moved there and did not have enough heat. Always have a back up!

One day I woke up to a broken hot water heater. The pipes froze overnight and cracked. Most people take heating their home for granted. Heat is not something to take lightly.

Related Questions

How do you get A.C. in your tiny house? There are a few ways to cool a tiny house. The most common options is a mini split. A mini split is similar to central air and heat but is used for one room, which is big enough for a tiny house. This is the most convenient and common option. However there are other ways to cool a tiny house.

How do tiny houses get power? Tiny houses typically hook up to a power source through a 30 or 50 amp RV inlet. Lots of tiny houses are off-grid and those ones usually use solar for their power. There are some other options, like a generator. But it is a bad idea to use a generator constantly for a tiny house.