I have been following for some time now and it's really starting to take shape! How exciting! Your video quality is excellent. You are doing a great job all around. Thanks for taking us along on the journey!
Super excited to see the outcome of this solar system! I am hoping to build a similar set up except keeping the storage tank inside with a drain back system and utilizing PV panels to avoid the consequences of freezing. In the winter I will use the wood stove for hot water heating. I really look forward to future videos on this set-up! Thanks!
Wow, just wow. Your house is coming along nicely, Great choice for heating water. I hope i get my act straight and start building a tiny house of my own soon. Your videos are a great inspiration, I thank you!
Thanks for watching! Solar water heating was really important to us, as we were both adamant that we didn't want to use gas, and electric water heating was ruled out because it required more energy than our PV system could provide. This is a great solution which will give us a life-time of free hot water!
I really love the Hot Geyser idea! Perfect for a tiny house or small cabin. Even building up on it to do a complete home with radiant floor heating coupled with passiv haus design.
cnypilot Yup! It's been a bit tricky to come up with a great hot water solution in such a small space, with limited electricity and without using gas, but I think this really nails it! Can't wait to fit the wood-stove and really get it all cranking!
Thank you for this video and your commitment to not using fossil fuels!! I don't like to hear when people talk about being off the grid but using propane!! I hope to have a solar water heater too. I am in the States so can't use your particular solar company but will seek out someone in Northern California.
This is a fantastic alternative to gas or electric hot water systems. Great idea. I'm just wondering how well it preforms in winter? Do you have any type of backup? Because although it's still summer currently, winter is coming. The build is looking great though, can't wait for more updates.
This is cool! Can you point me in the direction of Part 2 of this video. I have been searching for the last week for a tiny house application of solar heated water. I want to do this, too!
I wonder if placing the tank Inside would have been better, to keep the heater water warm longer? The again, where I live its very cold 3-4 months out of the year.
Bryce, did you do a part 2? I"m looking to have my own tiny house built in around 6 months or so, and will be off grid, and wanting to use solar to heat water rather than gas. I cant find the part 2 - but will check out your solar fit, perhaps its in there?
The problem I see with this, and any solar installation on a tiny house roof, is that it determines the orientation of your house wherever you park it eventually. So for you, you always have to have that side of the roof facing north. Pretty cool system though.
hey bryce, we are doing similar tiny house gig in nz so your vids keep the motivation up. I wondered if you could divulge how much this solar heating system has cost you to purchase & install??
Living in America, and in the North East with bitter temperatures, I am very interested in your Solar system. I'm wondering, do you live in a warmer area because I would be afraid of a system like that, especially with the tank on the roof and the chance of freezing. I'm not really familiar with New Zealand weather, sorry. I love the idea as I have been researching Solar and rain water reclaiming for my own future build. I was interested in the idea of water storage under the bedroom in that big truck link you shared on your window install comments area, but wish there would have been more details about the system. I think that is why I love your site, because you give all of the little details. I can't wait to see what your plan is for water in your tiny home. Thanks again for sharing your adventure.
Hey Patty! In the city where we live the winters are very mild, so we don't really need to worry about freezing water. However, we are designing our house for all conditions, as we may want to one day move it south and would have to deal with freezing temperatures. For the solar system, we do have a frost valve in place which will prevent damage to the collector and to the tank. We also have plans in place for our water tank on the draw bar to help prevent problems. We will be covering all of this in future videos. Thanks for watching! :)
Looking good, you are doing a nice job! Also, really appreciate that you read and respond to many peoples questions (unlike many). Just finished having my trailer custom fabricated, and am currently saving up to start the next stages. This reminds me, did you use some kind of computer software to design the whole project (sorry if you have already answered this somewhere)? I am trying to use Google Sketchup. but the learning curve is proving very frustrating.
Hey there. Congratulations on kicking off your own Tiny House build! Please keep us posted on your progress. Thanks, I try to reply to as many as I can, but it does get hard to keep up with sometimes! The drawings of our Tiny House were done by a professional (Eddie from Equinox Design) in ArchiCAD. I have heard great things about Sketchup though, and even though it's a learning curve, I think it's a wonderful skill to pick up on if you can. I've been slowly chipping away at learning it too.
Hey David, I am sure you would be able to have a similar system built in Australia, otherwise, get in touch with Solar Group - they may even be able to ship one over to you.
Hey Sylvain! Nope, the ridge cap still has to go onto the roof which will bring the height of that up a bit more. The whole house will sit at exactly 4.25 meters, but is likely to compress another 5cm under the weight of the house on the suspension - so we expect that it will be 4.2 meters on the road.
Can u plz show the diagram of water flowing from source to the solar heating sys. Do u use small pump or what to lift water? Finally the cost and the amount of time to heat water and what degree it becomes ☺ Thx alot
I worry that the tank on top makes the tiny house higher in the air by like 6 in and because of the height requirement and trying to park it somewhere It could hit wires or bridges
Hey Katrina. The ridge cap is still go to on the roof. Once the ridge cap is on, the water tank will sit just below the roof line so it will still be fine to clear bridges and power lines (so long as they are not hanging below the legal height).
Yeah, didn't know if it was the angle of the camera making it appear taller than the house and was thinking thats crazy to have to take it off/down to move the house, tks for getting back to me
what is your total budget for this tiny house? Im 17 and im planing on starting my tiny house out of high school. ive heard of people building theres with as little as 5000 dollars to 80,000 dollars.
Hey Chelsea - there really is no set figure that a tiny house will cost - they have been built for under 5k, and they have been built for over 100k, it really depends on where your materials are sourced, and how much of the work you are able to carry out yourself. For our particular build, we have been more focused on what is possible in small space design, and showcasing the latest in sustainable technologies, so it is by comparison on the more expensive end. If you're looking for some tips to carry out an affordable build, check out the video that we filmed on this awesome DIY tiny house: ua-cam.com/video/VckbqU4kK2I/v-deo.html
Gas was ruled out ? Have you not seen the DIY septic tank gas, that you can cook and heat your home from ? Talk about reusable, and please stop using that word sustainable, it is straight out of every government hand book. We need to think deeper and Reuse as it is far better then to just sustain.
We like to pay full price for our utilities in US. This is a great system and it's being used throughout Europe. Can be also " home made" if you know your way around torch and copper pipes.
Hey Bryce, this is not to do with this video so much but I was just wondering what the reasoning behind building over the wheel well was. I know that Jay Schafer advises against it now, because of thermal bridging and waterproofing issues even though he started out building over them. So, I was just wondering did you find a way around the drawbacks he mentioned or would you change the design? Not criticising, just very interesting. I've been following your build since the beginning :) This is the article I'm referring to www.fourlightshouses.com/blogs/news/12555681-dont-try-this-on-home-wall-over-wheels
Hey Dusty! Sure thing, really it was to do with creating extra space inside the house. I can understand Jay's concerns when it comes to waterproofing and thermal bridging, but these have all been addressed in our design. We have made sure it's watertight by using a custom flashing solution which goes right up under our weatherboards, to prevent any water from being able to enter via the wheel arch. When it comes to thermal bridging, the wheel arches are boxed in and insulated. Overall, for the amount of usable space you gain by building out over the wheel arches, I think it's worth while. In saying that though, if you are constructing a house that you plan to move often, I think it's better to build inside to minimise the profile of the house and make it easier to transport. Hope that helps a bit! Thanks for watching our vids! :)
Thanks Bryce! Really appreciate you getting back to me so quickly! Yes, it really does have a big impact on the floorspace and it brings up so many more challenges, but I suppose in a tiny house it's always a balancing game. You gain floorspace, but you lose portability. But yeah, it forces you to choose :) I'm really glad that you're building over the wheel arches. It'll reassure me when it comes to building mine!
I have been following for some time now and it's really starting to take shape! How exciting! Your video quality is excellent. You are doing a great job all around. Thanks for taking us along on the journey!
Super excited to see the outcome of this solar system! I am hoping to build a similar set up except keeping the storage tank inside with a drain back system and utilizing PV panels to avoid the consequences of freezing. In the winter I will use the wood stove for hot water heating. I really look forward to future videos on this set-up! Thanks!
Wow, just wow. Your house is coming along nicely, Great choice for heating water. I hope i get my act straight and start building a tiny house of my own soon. Your videos are a great inspiration, I thank you!
Thanks for watching! Solar water heating was really important to us, as we were both adamant that we didn't want to use gas, and electric water heating was ruled out because it required more energy than our PV system could provide. This is a great solution which will give us a life-time of free hot water!
Your project is really coming along and I am enjoying watching your progress. Keep it coming! Can't wait to see the finished tiny house.
Thanks Rob! It's really exciting for us to watch it coming together after so much planning! :)
I really love the Hot Geyser idea! Perfect for a tiny house or small cabin. Even building up on it to do a complete home with radiant floor heating coupled with passiv haus design.
cnypilot Yup! It's been a bit tricky to come up with a great hot water solution in such a small space, with limited electricity and without using gas, but I think this really nails it! Can't wait to fit the wood-stove and really get it all cranking!
Thank you for this video and your commitment to not using fossil fuels!! I don't like to hear when people talk about being off the grid but using propane!! I hope to have a solar water heater too. I am in the States so can't use your particular solar company but will seek out someone in Northern California.
Looks like a great set up.
i love the safety they used! great work guys :)
Yeah, you can tell they spend a lot of time climbing on some very tall buildings with all the gear they have. It actually looks like a lot of fun!
Loving this build. So inspirational! Keep up the hard work guys. Also i love the workshop. Like a dream :D
Yeah, it's a great place to work! Under cover, but still open to the surroundings with a great view. A lucky build spot indeed! :)
This is a fantastic alternative to gas or electric hot water systems. Great idea. I'm just wondering how well it preforms in winter? Do you have any type of backup? Because although it's still summer currently, winter is coming.
The build is looking great though, can't wait for more updates.
Love the voice over at the end. Maybe a quick little teaser (if you have some footage) would be a nice addition.
Cool - good idea! :)
This is cool! Can you point me in the direction of Part 2 of this video. I have been searching for the last week for a tiny house application of solar heated water. I want to do this, too!
What a neat project! I like the steel frame idea! Looks like a great water heating system! Any info on cost?
I wonder if placing the tank Inside would have been better, to keep the heater water warm longer? The again, where I live its very cold 3-4 months out of the year.
Well, the universe is pretty big, so I'm glad you're just going to stick with our solar system.
Bryce, did you do a part 2? I"m looking to have my own tiny house built in around 6 months or so, and will be off grid, and wanting to use solar to heat water rather than gas. I cant find the part 2 - but will check out your solar fit, perhaps its in there?
found your follow up in a later update video
The problem I see with this, and any solar installation on a tiny house roof, is that it determines the orientation of your house wherever you park it eventually. So for you, you always have to have that side of the roof facing north. Pretty cool system though.
hey bryce, we are doing similar tiny house gig in nz so your vids keep the motivation up. I wondered if you could divulge how much this solar heating system has cost you to purchase & install??
Living in America, and in the North East with bitter temperatures, I am very interested in your Solar system. I'm wondering, do you live in a warmer area because I would be afraid of a system like that, especially with the tank on the roof and the chance of freezing. I'm not really familiar with New Zealand weather, sorry. I love the idea as I have been researching Solar and rain water reclaiming for my own future build. I was interested in the idea of water storage under the bedroom in that big truck link you shared on your window install comments area, but wish there would have been more details about the system. I think that is why I love your site, because you give all of the little details. I can't wait to see what your plan is for water in your tiny home. Thanks again for sharing your adventure.
Hey Patty! In the city where we live the winters are very mild, so we don't really need to worry about freezing water. However, we are designing our house for all conditions, as we may want to one day move it south and would have to deal with freezing temperatures. For the solar system, we do have a frost valve in place which will prevent damage to the collector and to the tank. We also have plans in place for our water tank on the draw bar to help prevent problems. We will be covering all of this in future videos. Thanks for watching! :)
Ah yes, I remember him commenting on the valve. Thanks for the response.
Looking good, you are doing a nice job! Also, really appreciate that you read and respond to many peoples questions (unlike many).
Just finished having my trailer custom fabricated, and am currently saving up to start the next stages. This reminds me, did you use some kind of computer software to design the whole project (sorry if you have already answered this somewhere)? I am trying to use Google Sketchup. but the learning curve is proving very frustrating.
Hey there. Congratulations on kicking off your own Tiny House build! Please keep us posted on your progress. Thanks, I try to reply to as many as I can, but it does get hard to keep up with sometimes! The drawings of our Tiny House were done by a professional (Eddie from Equinox Design) in ArchiCAD. I have heard great things about Sketchup though, and even though it's a learning curve, I think it's a wonderful skill to pick up on if you can. I've been slowly chipping away at learning it too.
Awesome!
Cheers! :)
Love this Build,Do you know if this is Available in Australia? Thanks.
Hey David, I am sure you would be able to have a similar system built in Australia, otherwise, get in touch with Solar Group - they may even be able to ship one over to you.
how much is your estimate for this entire build cost? i am very interested in building something of similar deigna nd amterials/ quality. + labour
The water tank seem to be higher then the roof corner, is it going to pass the max street hight?
Hey Sylvain! Nope, the ridge cap still has to go onto the roof which will bring the height of that up a bit more. The whole house will sit at exactly 4.25 meters, but is likely to compress another 5cm under the weight of the house on the suspension - so we expect that it will be 4.2 meters on the road.
Can u plz show the diagram of water flowing from source to the solar heating sys. Do u use small pump or what to lift water?
Finally the cost and the amount of time to heat water and what degree it becomes ☺
Thx alot
Yup - we will be covering all of that in future episodes. :)
I worry that the tank on top makes the tiny house higher in the air by like 6 in and because of the height requirement and trying to park it somewhere It could hit wires or bridges
Hey Katrina. The ridge cap is still go to on the roof. Once the ridge cap is on, the water tank will sit just below the roof line so it will still be fine to clear bridges and power lines (so long as they are not hanging below the legal height).
Yeah, didn't know if it was the angle of the camera making it appear taller than the house and was thinking thats crazy to have to take it off/down to move the house, tks for getting back to me
What is the valve called??
what is your total budget for this tiny house? Im 17 and im planing on starting my tiny house out of high school. ive heard of people building theres with as little as 5000 dollars to 80,000 dollars.
Hey Chelsea - there really is no set figure that a tiny house will cost - they have been built for under 5k, and they have been built for over 100k, it really depends on where your materials are sourced, and how much of the work you are able to carry out yourself. For our particular build, we have been more focused on what is possible in small space design, and showcasing the latest in sustainable technologies, so it is by comparison on the more expensive end. If you're looking for some tips to carry out an affordable build, check out the video that we filmed on this awesome DIY tiny house: ua-cam.com/video/VckbqU4kK2I/v-deo.html
Just put a resin garden shed on a trailer bed lol
Where's part 2?
Gas was ruled out ? Have you not seen the DIY septic tank gas, that you can cook and heat your home from ? Talk about reusable, and please stop using that word sustainable, it is straight out of every government hand book. We need to think deeper and Reuse as it is far better then to just sustain.
How do you travel with a septic tank?
I do like but I do not see that here in the U.S.A.
We like to pay full price for our utilities in US.
This is a great system and it's being used throughout Europe. Can be also " home made" if you know your way around torch and copper pipes.
That tank is hideous on the roof. Couldn't you have hid it better?
Hey Bryce, this is not to do with this video so much but I was just wondering what the reasoning behind building over the wheel well was. I know that Jay Schafer advises against it now, because of thermal bridging and waterproofing issues even though he started out building over them. So, I was just wondering did you find a way around the drawbacks he mentioned or would you change the design? Not criticising, just very interesting. I've been following your build since the beginning :)
This is the article I'm referring to www.fourlightshouses.com/blogs/news/12555681-dont-try-this-on-home-wall-over-wheels
Hey Dusty! Sure thing, really it was to do with creating extra space inside the house. I can understand Jay's concerns when it comes to waterproofing and thermal bridging, but these have all been addressed in our design. We have made sure it's watertight by using a custom flashing solution which goes right up under our weatherboards, to prevent any water from being able to enter via the wheel arch. When it comes to thermal bridging, the wheel arches are boxed in and insulated. Overall, for the amount of usable space you gain by building out over the wheel arches, I think it's worth while. In saying that though, if you are constructing a house that you plan to move often, I think it's better to build inside to minimise the profile of the house and make it easier to transport. Hope that helps a bit! Thanks for watching our vids! :)
Thanks Bryce! Really appreciate you getting back to me so quickly! Yes, it really does have a big impact on the floorspace and it brings up so many more challenges, but I suppose in a tiny house it's always a balancing game. You gain floorspace, but you lose portability. But yeah, it forces you to choose :) I'm really glad that you're building over the wheel arches. It'll reassure me when it comes to building mine!
Part 2?
Humans... Very interesting creatures.
Another + for Bretts design. ua-cam.com/video/VckbqU4kK2I/v-deo.html
lol "going into detail on our solar system."
Haha. Yeah, that might be a very large topic to cover. ;)
well i suggest you start with earth or mars, we are relatively close to those planets after all.
Does anyone BUT ME SEE A PROBLEM/FLAW with the location of this solar panel & tank? Just wondering???
First
Congratulations! :)
Thanks