Off-grid
Many of our customers have done it, from holiday cabins in Portugal to private homes in the Norwegian mountains. Here is how it works, what changes with where you live, and what it costs on our houses.
Design your off-grid house →Climate
The same house goes off-grid much more easily in the south than in the north. What decides it is the winter sun.
Even in December, our 2 000 W of panels give around 6 to 7 kWh a day in Lisbon and Madrid, more than a small tiny house needs.
Hiide: off-grid cabins in Portugal, built by us →In Lyon and Munich the panels still give about 3 to 3.5 kWh a day in December: enough for a careful house, with little to spare in dark weeks.
Summer is easy. But around Christmas the panels give under 1 kWh a day in Oslo and Uppsala, just when you need the most light and heat. It works, with heating on wood and a plan for the darkest weeks.
Rule one
Solar panels on a tiny house roof can run the lights, a fridge, a laptop and the water pump. They can't run heating, hot water and cooking as well. So going off-grid starts by moving those three to wood, pellets or gas. That one decision matters more than the size of your solar system.
The sun where you live
A system that works in June can fail in December. In Scandinavia no tiny house roof keeps up for a few weeks around Christmas, so most people who live off-grid there add a second source for those weeks. Here is what the same 2 000 W of panels produce per day, in midsummer and in midwinter:
| June | December | |
|---|---|---|
| Lisbon | 10.2 | 5.9 |
| Madrid | 10.4 | 6.7 |
| Lyon | 9.3 | 3.5 |
| Munich | 8.4 | 3.1 |
| Copenhagen | 9.5 | 1.1 |
| Oslo | 9.1 | 0.7 |
| Uppsala | 9.3 | 0.6 |
A small, well-planned tiny house with heating, hot water and cooking off electricity uses roughly 600 to 1 000 kWh a year, about 1.5 to 3 kWh a day. In Portugal or Spain the sun covers that all year round. In Germany it gets tight in midwinter, but it works.
In Scandinavia there are a few weeks around Christmas when no tiny house roof keeps up, whatever you spend. Most people who live off-grid there all year add a second source for those weeks: a small generator, an occasional hook-up, or simply using less. Planning for that is cheaper than buying a system big enough to avoid it.
Our battery stores 5.12 kWh, enough for roughly two to three days without sun. Keep it inside the warm part of the house, because batteries lose capacity in the cold.
Water and toilet
Our rainwater system collects rain into a 1 250 l tank and filters it, with all the technology in its own small shed. For a house that moves, a 210 l fresh water tank sits in the plumbing, and a 105 l grey water tank on wheels collects the water from the sink and shower, to empty at a disposal point. When it drops below zero, a frost guard cable keeps the water connection from freezing.
A composting toilet separates liquids from solids and needs no water, only a small fan. An incinerating toilet burns everything to a little ash. Off-grid, take the gas version, because the electric one needs far more power than a solar system can spare.
Two things to check before you count on them: whether rainwater may be used as drinking water where you live, and where grey water may go. Both are local rules, and your municipality can tell you.
What it costs
Every model has a fully off-grid price: furnished, with solar power, water tanks, a stove, and cooking and hot water on gas.
| Model | Fully furnished | Fully off-grid | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature Pod | 32 500 € | 41 000 € | +8 500 € |
| Sofia | 39 500 € | 53 000 € | +13 500 € |
| Maya | 44 000 € | 58 000 € | +14 000 € |
| River | 55 500 € | 69 000 € | +13 500 € |
| Zenith | 61 000 € | 75 000 € | +14 000 € |
| Evergreen | 80 500 € | 94 000 € | +13 500 € |
Solar system: 2 000 W of panels, 5.12 kWh battery, 3 000 W inverter7 190 €
Wood stove, Salamander Hobbit3 050 €
Pellet stove, La Nordica Luisella3 697 €
Gas tankless water heater1 250 €
Gas cooktop, two burners350 €
Rainwater system: 1 250 l tank, filtration and shed5 320 €
Fresh water tank, 210 l1 500 €
Grey water tank on wheels, 105 l500 €
Composting toilet, Separett Tiny1 150 €Gas incinerating toilet, Cinderella Freedom5 880 €
Shed on the drawbar, for the technology1 120 €Prices excluding VAT, from our price calculator in October 2026. They are the same for all models.
Questions
Partly. Panels and tanks can often be added, but the pipework, tanks and wiring that live inside the walls go in before the walls are closed. A stove isn't a simple add-on either: it needs planning and a flue through the roof or wall. So a ready-built house from our stock can't become fully off-grid afterwards. If off-grid matters to you, tell us before the build, and ask us what can still be added if you have already bought.
It can. In Portugal, the national planning guidance treats a connection to water, sewage, electricity or gas as a sign that a structure is permanent and part of the land, whether or not it has wheels; a caravan without connections counts as movable property. In France, a résidence démontable, the category for a light home without foundations lived in as a main residence, may be autonomous from the networks: it doesn't have to be connected, but without a connection you need a certificate covering water, sanitation, electricity and fire safety. The rules for where you put the house still apply, so ask your municipality first. Our FAQ has the rules for fourteen countries.
Yes. Tanks, batteries and a stove add weight, which matters if you also want to stay under 3.5 tonnes so you can tow the house yourself. Our small and medium models can usually be both off-grid and under 3.5 tonnes, depending on the other materials and furnishing you choose; the larger ones usually can't. Tell us early, so we can plan the weight with you.
No. Our solar systems are off-grid systems with a battery. Once the battery is full, the system simply holds it there; nothing is fed into the grid.
Yes, with heating on wood or pellets and a plan for the darkest weeks. From late November to January the sun gives a tiny house roof very little in Sweden and Norway, so people living off-grid there all year use a small generator, an occasional hook-up or simply less power in those weeks.
Pick a model in our price calculator and choose the off-grid options. Or tell us where the house will stand and what you want to run, and we'll size it with you.
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