7 Ways To Go Green When Building Your Tiny House {Including 1 Way That No One Wants To Talk About}

The Tiny House Movement is slowly creeping into every corner of the country. The choice to live in 500 square feet or less is appealing to people trying to go 'green' and reduce their carbon footprint. Whether your tiny house is on a permanent foundation or mobile, there are several choices you can make throughout the building process that are eco-friendly for your new, little home. 

1. Frame: If you are building a mobile tiny house, consider using a used frame instead of buying a new one. Likewise, if you are building on a permanent foundation, consider remodeling a tiny house or re-using a shipping container as a base.

2. Windows: Scoring used windows, either from friends, architectural salvage locations, or from construction remodeling sites, can be a much greener choice than buying new ones from your local hardware super store. You do need to keep in mind, however, that free windows are only good if they are insulated. Cheap, single-pane glass will eat into your heating costs over time, defeating the purpose.

3. Roofing: While you can't re-use shingles, you can be environmentally conscious when you make your purchase by selecting shingles made from recycled materials, like car tires, as well as shingles that have a smaller carbon footprint in their manufacturing process, like cement shingles. If you have a mobile tiny home, some consideration should be put into durability on the freeway, but there are always greener options available.

4. Insulation: The most common insulation for tiny homes and for traditional homes is batt insulation — the big pink rolls of fiberglass insulation are easy to roll out and install. While they are easy and energy-efficient, there are greener options, namely, denim batt. Just like it sounds, shredded denim scraps are used to create rolls of batt insulation. Levi Strauss actually collects clippings and threads from the sewing room floor for this purpose, and it is readily available at hardware stores.

5. Solar Energy: Harnessing energy from the sun and going off-grid is a great way to go 'green' with your tiny home. RV solar energy panels are readily available in do-it-yourself kits that anyone can install on the roof of a tiny house. For mobile dwellers, there are RV solar panel options that will allow you to use the panels in a more temporary fashion as the home changes locations.  

6. Heating: It doesn't take much to heat a tiny home due to its minuscule square footage, but you do still need a heat source in most parts of the country. Tiny house dwellers have used marine stoves, wood-burning fireplaces, and pellet stoves, depending on their individual needs.

7. The Toilet: It's this one. This is the one that no one really wants to talk about. Tiny homes on a foundation can opt for low-flow toilets, but mobile homes don't have that option. Composting toilets, or marine toilets, are the way to go — literally. Liquids are collected in a small container at the base of the unit and disposed of manually every day or two. Solids are stored in a separate compartment and break down over time. It doesn't smell. Promise.

There are green solutions for your tiny home if you put in the time to do your research and hunt them down.