Appliance Options for Tiny Homes
An important part of establishing a tiny household is outfitting it with the right appliances that will suit your new lifestyle. By and large, this will mean getting small-scale versions of common home machinery that are powered the way you need. This article will outline the electric and propane options for tiny home appliances so you can keep a clear picture of which appliance will work best for you, your family, and your tiny home.
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Heating and Cooling
Before you decide how you want to heat and cool your home, calculate how much heat and cold air you’ll need. This will help you determine what system is right for you. You should calculate these in British Thermal Units (BTUs) based on your home’s particular specs (you can find a calculator for heating and cooling here). Take note of how many BTUs is recommended. This will help you when shopping.
Heating
Space Heaters
You can get an electric or propane space heater depending on your power needs.
An electric floor or wall-mounted model with the power to heat a whole room (or your whole home) will cost around $150. They will produce 5,000 to 6,000 BTUs on average. The drawback to a space heater is that it will use a lot of energy and be expensive to run full-time, so this may not be the best option as a primary heat source if you live in a cold area. But it could act as a great back-up heater.
A comparable propane space heater will cost between $100 and $150. Propane as a power source costs less than electricity, but they are generally bigger than electric heaters so they may be difficult to place or store.
Wood-Burning Stove
Wood-burning stoves are great options for heating your space that is unreliant on electricity or gas, while possibly offering another heat source to boil water. They tend to be large, so may not be the best option in terms of space. Some produce so much heat that they’re only optimal for larger homes. Many are made of cast-iron so they weigh quite a lot. You can expect to pay $1,000 to $2,000 for a wood-burning stove. Do some research for the size that would work best for your home.
Solar Air Heater
The Canadian company EcoSolaris made a heating panel that uses the sun’s energy to heat your home. Attach these panels, measuring at about 3 by 4 feet, to the south-facing facade of your tiny home to heat the inner rooms from the thermal heating panels while a fan wired to solar panels circulates the heat. Each panel costs $1,200 and will ship to you. After that, there’s no cost — it’s a self-sustaining system. Watch this short video to see how it works.
One Final Note: Now matter what you choose, consider picking a primary and a back-up heating source, especially if you plan on being on the move or well removed from help.
Cooling
Window AC Unit
For $300 on average, you can buy an electric-powered window AC unit to cool your tiny home. These systems use anywhere from 500 to 1,400 watts (meaning a medium amount of electricity to a lot), so if you want to use this system make sure to research the specs to understand how much energy it’ll take to power. If you’re living in a PMRV, remember to remove it from your window before hitting the road!
Fans
If you don’t want to bother with an air conditioner, you can opt for a fan. You have your pick of electric- or solar-powered options. A decent electric fan can cost you between $50 and $100, though you can get a high-end version for around $300.
A solar-powered option will cost approximately $150 for a small fan, or $300 for a large one.
Mini-Split System (Heating and Cooling)
A mini-split system provides both air conditioning and heat to your home using electricity. Some even have dehumidifier settings. Mini-split systems are not centralized air systems and don’t have ducts because they rely on refrigerant lines rather than water lines, so installation is much less expensive. Additionally, they are also more energy efficient because nothing is lost within any vents (science for the win!). You can get single- and multiple-room mini-split systems, but most tiny homes only need a single-room system.
The price of a single room mini split system will be impacted by the amount of heat you’ll need. You can get your own dual AC/heating system starting at $400, which will heat your space to 6,000 BTUs, or $800 for 12,000 BTUs. There are models that produce more heat than this but you shouldn’t need them. The indoor part of the unit mounts to the wall in the room of your choice, with a drainage tube and other wiring leading to the outside to drain the unit’s condensation and to connect to a heat pump that sits outside of your home. If your house rests on a permanent foundation, you can rest the heat pump on the ground. Otherwise, you can rig a mounting on the side of your tiny home for the heat pump.
If this system appeals to you, watch this video to get a good idea of what installation will look like.
Kitchen and Bathroom
Many of the big appliances you’ll need will be associated with food. This article will not outline microwaves, as many tiny homeowners go without them because they take up a lot of valuable space and use a lot of electricity. Read on for the essentials.
Stoves and Ovens
For an electric-powered stove and oven set, you can expect to pay between $400 and $600 for a 4 square foot appliance. Gas-powered stove/ovens range from $600 to $800. If you don’t expect to do any baking, you can get just a stovetop and cut the aforementioned prices in half.
Keep in mind that, though they have a higher up-front cost, gas stoves are cheaper to operate, will put off more heat than their electric counterpart, and will consequently raise the overall temperature inside of your home when you cook. Depending on where you live, this could be a good thing!
Grills
Many tiny house dwellers do a lot of grill cooking. You can get an outdoor propane grill set for $150 to $200. With a canopy over your set-up, you can grill in rain or shine. Invest in a cast-iron skillet and an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven to put directly on the grill for sauteing and boiling, respectively. Depending on the size, skillets cost between $25 and $50. An off-brand enameled Dutch oven will cost $50, while a brand-name approaches $300. If you intend to do a lot of water boiling on a grill it’s worth it to get a brand-name version, as cheaply made versions tend to crack.
Refrigerators
It’s important to invest in a good refrigerator — and to understand your options based on your personal constraints. For instance, if you rely on solar power, an electric refrigerator is not right for you because a refrigerator must continually draw electricity and will deplete your energy reserves. The following will outline electric and propane fridges.
Electric
If you’re looking to cut down on costs, space, and the amount of electricity your fridge draws, and are comfortable with a fridge tiny enough to rival your new home, you can get a compact electric refrigerator with a freezer for around $250. You could be forced to go to the grocery store every few days to refresh your store of fresh foods because this price point offers about 3.5 cubic feet of space. Up the price by $75 or so if you need that extra cubic foot of space. You can go up to $450 for 7.3 cubic feet (which would be considered an “apartment-sized” fridge), though the price may increase in conjunction with energy efficiency ratings. Research what size refrigerator your personal power system can accommodate.
Propane
Propane refrigerators often come with dual-power (electric and propane) capabilities, and are more expensive than their solely-electric counterparts. For a 3.5 cubic foot fridge expect to pay $1,000, while an 8 cubic foot refrigerator will cost $1,400 on average. This may seem like a lot up front compared to an electric fridge, but remember that this refrigerator will not draw on your electric power grid and its energy input costs are far less. Because it uses less energy, it’s also a greener option for the planet.
Water Heaters
To save space in your kitchen and bathroom, you’ll likely want a tankless water heater. You can get a good electric model for $200 to $450, but — depending on the model — for that price the heater might restrict your shower’s water pressure and temperature, and you may not be able to heat the water in your kitchen at the same time. For more efficient electric models, you can expect to spend upwards of $1,000.
For a tankless propane water heater, expect to spend up to $1,000 for a model with the capacity to heat your shower and have decent water pressure, with the ability to heat the water in your kitchen at the same time (likely on the more expensive end) depending on the model. If you want to use a tankless propane heater for just your kitchen sink, it’ll cost around $150.
You can combine two smaller, cheaper units — one for the bathroom and one for the kitchen — if you want to be able to heat both quickly and at the same time without wasting water. The further your water heater is from the water you want to heat, the longer it will take, meaning your water will have to run for longer to get it to heat up. If you have limited amounts of water available, wasting water might not be an option for you.
Cleaning Appliances
Washers and Dryers
Tiny homes don’t offer much room for washers and dryers so many small-time homeowners rely on laundromats or hand-washing their clothes instead, but if you can’t bear to live without, you have some smaller-scale options.
Keep in mind that all of these run off of electricity. Compact washers and dryers don’t run on gas, though some larger models do. These sizes are more likely to vibrate, and some models don’t accept bleach. Also, the smaller the washer, the smaller the clothes capacity, so you’ll have to do more loads of laundry than you might be used to.
Unitized Washer and Dryer Set
A unitized washer and dryer (meaning they’re stacked and connected to one another) takes up 4 to 6 square feet of floor space and measures about 6 feet tall. A set costs $1,300 on average. Depending on the way you source your water and electricity — and your space constraints — this could be a great way to keep your laundry operation in-house.
All-in-One Ventless Washer and Dryer
For between $1,000 and $1,500 you can get a combined washer and dryer to cut down on the amount of vertical space you use. While these items are available on the market, most appliance experts discourage their use. The washing option works decently well, but the drying option isn’t very effective. Many people report having to run a load multiple times to get everything dry.
Compact Washer
If neither of the above options call to you but you still want to wash your clothes at home, consider a compact washer to wash your clothes, and dry them in the open air. You can get a tiny washer that takes up between 3 and 6 square feet for $300 to $800. To dry your clothes, set up a clothesline outside ($40 for a set), hang up your clothes to dry in on hangers in your closet, or drape them on a drying rack ($20 for a small rack, $60 for a large one).
Manual Washers
This kind of washer doesn’t rely on power. A small, compact hand-cranked washer is a great off-the-grid way to wash your clothes. You can get popular models among tiny home dwellers for between $50 and $100. They can only wash about 5 pounds worth of clothes (a few shirts or a couple pairs of pants at a time), but they don’t use much water and they clean your clothes in just a few minutes. Hang dry your clothes afterwards. These miniature washers take up just a square foot of space, so they’re easy to store.
Dishwashers
Compact Dishwasher
These portable dishwashers sit on top of your counter, are energy efficient, and only use about 3 gallons of water. Taking up 3 square feet on your countertop, they can generally accommodate up to 6 place settings. Compact dishwashers cost between $250 and $400. Hook them up to water using the faucet of your kitchen sink and snake the drainage hose into your sink’s basin to get your dishes sparkling clean.
Drawer Dishwasher
These dishwashers on the market are tiny enough to fit among the drawers in your cabinet and can even be installed to live in them. They average 2.5 to 4 square feet and are about 1.5 feet tall. They have comparable dish space as compact dishwashers, but connect to your pipes rather than your faucet and can’t be moved. They cost between $500 and $850.
Takeaways
It’s important to be realistic about cost considerations, but remember that part of the wonderful experience of transitioning to tiny living is finding out all of the ways you can downsize and, in some cases, how you can reduce your environmental burden.
You have a lot of options and opportunities to outfit your new life with the appliances that will enable you to find fulfillment and self-sufficiency. Do your research, see what will work for you, and take the plunge. If you have any doubts, find an online tiny home community to see what other people are doing.