Choosing Appliances When You Want to Live Off Grid in a Tiny Home

When some choose to live the tiny home lifestyle, they want to go all out and live off-grid, but what does this mean if you plan on having appliances in your tiny home? Picking out an appliance for an off-grid tiny home can be a bit tricky. You of course will want to find appliance models with great performance that make life easier but do not command a higher usage of power.

Today’s appliances are most often being created to use as little energy as possible making your choices much brighter than they used to be. There are even some companies coming up with appliances specifically designed to use with solar power systems.

Read on to find out some more information about appliances that work well with off grid lifestyles.

Energy efficiency and power draw of off-grid-friendly appliances

Making sure that an appliance has the highest energy efficiency is a very important factor for living an off-grid lifestyle with appliances in your tiny home. If you are planning to power your appliances with a solar power system that contains a battery bank you should have a sufficient supply of power for your appliances. The first place to look when it comes to electric appliances is at the energy star label. It will tell you how much power the particular appliance uses on average and what method was used to measure it.

Another thing to keep in mind with power usage is the surge wattage. Surge wattage is the amount of wattage an appliance takes to get from being turned off to fully running. Your power source may be able to run an appliance when it’s at a steady-state, but might not be able to get to that level. Surge wattage can take as much as three times what steady running wattage does.

Water usage

Appliances that are specifically made for water usage including washing machines, dishwashers, and hot water heaters will obviously require a plumbing connection to work the way it was intended. This will add another level of complexity to an off-grid lifestyle. If you are planning to use a well water system it is good to find out how much water each appliance uses per cycle and the rate at which it draws water. You want to make sure you will not be overwhelming your well pump and pressure tank.

Ease of care and maintenance

Most appliances that work in an off-grid setting are pretty simple to maintain and run pretty similar to other every day appliances. Make sure that before you purchase any appliance however, you check out the manufacturer’s recommendations for specific needs and care. As well as looking up as many user reviews as possible to get a feel for what the appliance really will need when it comes to maintaining it.

Needed space

This one may seem obvious because you have to think about how much space anything is going to take up when you’re building a tiny home, but it is especially important if you plan to build on your own. Of course, you will want to make sure you are utilizing every inch of space as well as you can. If you are using a mini-cabin, there will be more freedom and selection for your appliance size.

Difficulty of installing

Many tiny homeowners pride themselves on things that they did all by themselves to put their tiny home together. Whenever you DIY something it is always good to make sure that you have experience in the area first or at least get the help of someone that has plenty of experience. Doing something on your own for the first time with little knowledge has big capacity to turn into a large mishap or mistake. Even in a regular home it is smart for any homeowner to make sure they know exactly what they are doing before installing any appliance on their own. It could lead to safety issues when an appliance is improperly installed.

For more information on tiny homes in North Snohomish County please contact us anytime or come by and see us near Arlington and Marysville in the Smokey Point area.

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More on Tiny Homes in the Pacific Northwest

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• 5 Ways of Maximizing the Space on Your Tiny Home Deck
• Doing Remote Work From a Tiny Home
• 4 Clever Small Space Living Tips for Tiny Homes
• Is a Tiny House a Good Plan for a Retirement Home?
• What Size Can a Tiny House Be Within the Laws?
• Tips for Sleeping in a Loft in a Tiny House
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