Does this idea make sense? I’ve yet to come up with an idea for the back “blank” wall that could be put to use; the only idea I had wasn’t anything to do with power, but to be used as a rack of sorts to hold garden tools when not in transport.

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2007/04/26/almost-free-garage-heat-just-drink-a-lot-of-soda/

In any case wind power is not an option for everyone – not for me – no wind where I am but reasonable amount of sun. I do have a stream on my property and I do plan to have a hydro scheme but it’s not portable as Michael points out and I have to run 600m of wire, so it’s not going to be a day 1 thing and I still need something if I need to go somewhere temporarily.

I suppose the other alternative to keep it simple is simply to have a standalone PV stand on the ground next to the house. If you need to move, just pick it up and put it in the house.

The thought of where to put a PV panel on this type of roof is something I have thought about a lot! because this is exactly the type of roof and house configuration I live in now (only a little bigger). I currently have a single 80w panel with 4 Trojan T-106 batteries. This is enough to run my amateur woodshop used on an infrequent basis using large machines and power tools. I ended up building an angled frame that can sit on the ground or it could sit on the only very tiny small flat part of the roof that I have, but I think it does better on the ground.

But truthfully the size of a system depends on the requirements of the occupant(s). So it is reasonable to say you’ll spend anywhere from a couple thousand dollars for a small system to $25K or more for a system large enough to power ‘normal’ home appliances like washers, hair dryers, and microwave ovens. Clothes drying and air conditioning are not really possible with PV.

The suggestions for using wind are really good too. But just like PV you pretty much pay per watt. The more power you need the larger and more expensive the initial cost. If you have land with a steady stream and you have water rights to setup a small hydro system you may have the lowest cost per watt opportunity running across your land. The system will not be portable of course and can be tricky to setup but the power tends to come steadily day and night, unlike wind and solar.

The house will swivel around the fixed wheel. Make sure you do it slowly, and don’t put things in the way.

Actually, you could probably forget about the fixed wheel, the motor and the chain-driven gear. Attach a pushing pole to the hitch, and swivel the house around its center of mass with muscle power. A heavier house just needs a longer pushing pole and a wider arc of clearance.

Much simpler. Your $4000 worth of panels sit snug and flat on your roof, and you swivel the house to point toward the sun. What’s the point of having a tiny house if you can’d move it around?

http://www.solarhome.org/solarebook_starterpvsystem.html

As for cost/complexity, we certainly won’t require a $25k setup right? Its < 130 sq ft! Shouldn’t a marine/cabin setup should get the job done?

Finally, are you planning on shutters/louvers/? to prevent (or moderate) solar when things heat up?