How our tiny homes and our family are surviving the coldest temperatures on the planet....
We have been surviving some of the coldest temperatures on the planet the past 6 days. Temps have been dipping to -57C/-70F with the wind chill. How do we survive? First, we embrace the beauty of it all and then we build resilient tiny homes with systems that can handle the cold.
This past weekend we stayed inside by the fire, enjoyed a lot of family time together (building lego, watching NFL playoffs, and playing games) and tried a few new experiments that you can only do in the coldest of temps. I truly believe life is all about perspective. Focus on the cold and feel colder or get out and create some beauty. This is what I want to teach my kids - ALWAYS look for the beauty around you. Sometimes you have to fight for it and really search but it is always there to be found.
We made frozen bubbles with the kids and were mesmerized by watching the crystals form. It took a lot of patience but no 2 bubbles were the same.
Now to building resilient homes:
Here are a few things we have learned about keeping small spaces warm in the frigid cold and how we apply them to our buildings
IBC combination boiler for radiant in-floor heat -
This is a must! We have found this to be the most effective heat system. It is residential grade and a bomber of a unit that keeps our homes warm in the coldest of temps
A heated shed for propane or a method to head your propane lines!
Did you know that propane starts to gel at -30C/-22F. Keeping your propane lines above freezing is critical for performance. For our client Kelsey, we built a little heated shed that directly attached to her home to keep her propane from freezing. Kesey truly put her home to the test this past weekend. Kelsey shares first hand about how well her home is performing in a polar vortex here:
Insulated skirting -
This helps increase the efficiency of our homes by 30-40 % in the cold. Our client Vince, ran data on his home last winter with and without insulated shiriting. He saved 30% when the skirting was on, now this skirting was put onto deeply frozen ground, so starting with warm ground we anticipate 40% efficiency.
Zip R panel system and spray foam insulation as part of our building science
There are many ways to build a great tiny home and these are a few things we do to make our buildings resilient for Canadian winters. You may not need this building system now if you are in the dessert of California, BUT you never know where your home may land one day. Our original Model, the Fritz has been resold from Edmonton, AB to Valdez Alaska!
For more on our refined and curated tiny home model line, you can see our 5 tiny home models here. We truly love blending form and function into designs that you and truly live in any climate. And as aways, please feel free to reach out. We are here to help and answer your questions as you consider tiny home living.
