Tag Archives: solar house

Tiny House Tour with Bill Brooks

Posted on February 12, 2011 by Michael Janzen

Bill built a tiny house from one of the free tiny house plans I’ve posted here at Tiny House Design. He’s made some smart modifications to it including the addition of a storage box for the solar system batteries and … Continue reading →

Posted in Video | Tagged Bill Brooks, free plans, Kent Griswold, solar house | 10 Comments

Tiny Solar Saltbox

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Michael Janzen

I updated the Tiny Solar House plans tonight and added 5 pages that explain how this 8′ by 12′ house can be easily extended into a 12′ by 16′. I also made a little change to the name of the house … Continue reading →

Posted in Plans | Tagged house plans, small house, solar house, tiny house, tiny solar saltbox | 13 Comments

Tiny Solar House Plans

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Michael Janzen

Ironically this is my 400th post on Tiny House Design. I really hadn’t planned to do anything special for the 400th post but this does mark a personal milestone for me. Over the last year and a half of exploring … Continue reading →

Posted in Plans | Tagged google sketchup, house plans, Plans, solar, solar house | 14 Comments

Murphy Bed in the 8×20 Solar House

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Michael Janzen

I’m still making small edits to the next version of the house plans but I wanted to share a better picture of the murphy bed. It’s a queen size bed mounted horizontally. This allows some space to walk around side … Continue reading →

Posted in Free Plans | Tagged free plans, google sketchup, murphy bed, sketchup, solar house, sustainable architecture, tiny house, tiny solar house, wall bed, wallbed | 14 Comments

8×20 Solar House Update… Free Plans Nearly Complete

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Michael Janzen

For the past two weeks I’ve been test driving Google SketchUp Pro and have come to a simple conclusion. Unless you’re a professional I think you’ll be able to do much more than you’ve ever dreamed with the free version … Continue reading →

Posted in Free Plans | Tagged 3d, 8x20, free plans, google layout, google sketchup, google sketchup pro, house plan, house plans, illustration, sketchup, solar house, sustainable architecture, tiny house | 10 Comments

More about my exploration with Google SketchUp Pro

Posted on July 18, 2009 by Michael Janzen

My 8-hour free trial with Google SketchUp Pro and Google Layout must be almost at an end. I realized early on that I could continue to draw with the free 3D version on my laptop which allowed me to draw … Continue reading →

Posted in Free Plans | Tagged 2d, 3d, architectural drawing, drafting, free plans, google layout, google sketchup, illustration, solar house, tiny house | Leave a comment

Tiny Dogtrot House – Part 2

Posted on June 3, 2009 by Michael Janzen

I got so much great feedback on the last Tiny Dogtrot House design concept that I decided to whip up a revision. Below is a slightly modified variation that now includes a screened porch between the two 8′ by 12′ … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Concept | Tagged architecture, dogtrot, google sketchup, passive solar, photovoltaic, solar house, sustainable, tiny house, tiny solar house | 15 Comments

One More Competitor For The Next Free Plan I Draw

Posted on April 10, 2009 by Michael Janzen

I really want to thank everyone for leaving all the great comments on the last few posts. The input has really been inspiring and you’re coming up with ideas and issues that probably wouldn’t have occurred to me without sharing … Continue reading →

Posted in Free Plans | Tagged camp house, free plans, house plans, solar house, tiny house | 4 Comments

Improved Solar Panel Set-Up

Posted on April 6, 2009 by Michael Janzen

Honestly I’m trying to keep this simple, no really. I could just slap an RV photovoltaic (PV) panel rack on the roof and be done with it but it just seems like that would be harder to live with day-in … Continue reading →

Posted in Free Plans | Tagged 8x16, active solar, Free Plans, free plans, passive solar, solar house, solar tiny house, tiny solar house | 14 Comments

Alternate Solar Panel Integration – Tiny Solar House

Posted on April 5, 2009 by Michael Janzen

I was up late last night drawing some Tiny Solar House updates that included a way of integrating photovoltaic solar panels into the design. This morning I’m thinking that my previous solution won’t work very well.Based on the early comments … Continue reading →

Posted in Free Plans | Tagged 8x16, free plans, photovoltaic panels, solar house, tiny house | 15 Comments