Category: Renewable Energy

Design Details of My Strawbale Tiny House: Beauty and Function

In this video I take you through some of the design features of my strawbale tiny house and explain how designing a house to be efficient, sustainable, and functional can result in a byproduct of beauty.  Tiny house builders and owners know how important it is to conserve space in their homes.  Mine is no different. See how I make use of the space under my stairway.  A walk-in closet on the second floor provides a handy place to store and hide all my stuff. See how using natural finishes to the house add functionality and beauty.

My house’s passive solar design also reduces the amount of fuel I need to heat my home in winter.  I’ll show you how it heats up throughout a chilly day using only the sun’s energy.

Sustainable Landscaping: Scythe vs String Trimmer

Most people these days maintain their yard with a lawnmower and a string trimmer (or weed whacker, as we like to call it), but before the days of fossil fuel, the scythe was the preferred mowing tool. Virtually silent in comparison to its carbon emitting counterparts, the scythe is simply manufactured, durable, and long lived. Best of all, it requires no fossil fuel, only muscle power. And for that reason it’s also provides good exercise.

At Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, where we are building a post fossil fuel culture and community, the scythe is the tool of choice for yard and farm maintenance. The renewable energy powered electric string trimmer also has a place in maintaining a space.

My Passive Solar Tiny House

This video is an introduction to the passive solar design features of my strawbale tiny house. This 450 sq ft house uses south facing windows to heat itself during winter, supplementing heat provided by a wood stove. Roman-style thermal curtains on all windows help to conserve heat. A cantilevered second floor and overhangs keep the sun out during warmer times of the year.  Continue reading