The tiny house movement has been thriving over the past few years. One reason is that downsizing a home is a driving force in saving energy. According to statistics, tiny houses use just 7% of the energy used for a standard home in the U.S.
Not to mention that solar power is also soaring in popularity. Figures show that over 500,000 residential solar panels were mounted on traditional houses in 2021 in the U.S. alone. And that number is growing.
But here’s the burning question – can you run a tiny home on solar panels?
The short answer is yes. But how so?
In this article, we’ll figure out how many solar panels are needed to run a tiny home, how to install solar panels on a tiny house, what appliances you can power up, and a refreshing solution to get easy, accessible solar power for your tiny home. That is, using EcoFlow Power Kits.
How to Wire a Tiny House for Solar Power
First off, just like a regular home solar system, solar panels for tiny houses need wiring to a central ‘hub’. The hub stores the solar power and generates and consumes electricity for the home without needing the main grid. It’s usually made up of many different components, and without these, you can’t run a tiny home on solar panels alone.
A proper solar set-up needs battery chargers, a charge controller and a DC/AC inverter. These require finicky wiring to hook up to your home that requires professional skill to set up. They also demand quite a lot of space – something a tiny house cannot afford to loose.
However, a great solution to this problem lies within the EcoFlow Power Kits. They are designed with small spaces and convenience in mind without needing to fish wires into the walls.
As modular plug-and-play power solutions created for off-grid living, the Power Kits are easy to assemble and switch up. And as a result, this allows you to customize your hardware with ease to suit your electrical needs.
EcoFlow Power Kits – A Tiny House Solar System
The EcoFlow Power Kits are a downsized version of a traditional power kit. They comprise of many components depending on which tier bundle you buy. They also come with fewer components and wiring than traditional power systems.
Learn more about EcoFlow Power Kits: A Deep Dive Into the Off-Grid Solar Systems Changing The Game
How Many Solar Panels are Needed to Power a Tiny House?
Before shopping around for solar panels, it’s good to get an idea of what wattage they generate per hour. It’s also helpful to calculate how much solar energy is needed to charge a tiny house on average. By doing this, you will have a basic guide for your usage requirements before you do your own calculations.
One solar panel, such as an EcoFlow portable solar panel, can generate between 60-400 watts of power per hour. This depends on the frequency of sunlight and panel placement. FYI, EcoFlow portable solar panels are great for small homes, off-grid builds, and RVs.
Now let’s take the average power a tiny house uses per day, which is around 4KW. If you had two 400-watt panels that have been soaking up sunlight for 5 hours straight that means you’ll have 4KW (4000 watts) of power generated for the day.
How Do I Hook up a Solar Panel to a Tiny House?
EcoFlow Get-Set Kits
With all EcoFlow Power Kits, you can plug an add-on solar panel into the Power Hub port which will then charge EcoFlow unique LFP stackable battery (or batteries) and store electricity for whenever you need it. This basic setup is the Get-Set kit. Using just three components, it’s the easiest way to power up your home off-grid using solar power. What’s more, you can customize and add-on to the Get-Set Kit if you decide to expand your system in the future.
Expand you say? That’s right. The Power Kits also come with more components to elevate your solar system even more.
You Now Have a Basic Solar Power Kit for a Tiny House
To expand your setup from the Get-Set Kit, EcoFlow Power Kits also come in two other tier bundles. These next two help you to gain more control of your power usage. Let’s find out a bit more about these below:
EcoFlow Prepared Kits
For better control of multiple appliances, you can choose a Prepared Kit, which includes all of the Get-set parts (Power Hub, your choice of batteries) but with the Smart Distribution Panel. This component allows you to better manage where your solar power is going and controls multiple appliances. Hook up 6 AC and 12 DC appliances, and control and monitor 6 of those (DC) using the EcoFlow App. More power to you.
EcoFlow Independence Kits
The Independence Kit is the most advanced off-grid power set-up. With this, you obtain total independence from the main grid. Using all the components from the Prepared Kit, this one also includes the Power Kit Console for easy control of your home power, and the EcoFlow Smart Generator for back-up power. Essentially like a mini microgrid for your tiny house.
What Appliances Can I Use in a Solar Powered Tiny House?
It’s important to note the appliances you frequently use and the number of people living in your space. This will help you choose your required LFP stackable battery storage capacity. These batteries range between 2kWh-15kWh.
For example, you may be living alone and like to keep your appliance usage and screen time to a minimum and therefore may only require 2KW of power for the day to cook and store food and keep lights on. Or you may be a couple with a small child who need plenty of power to frequently wash clothes, heat water and watch entertainment.
Whatever your situation, you can use our handy calculator to choose an EcoFlow Power Kit & required battery storage capacity for your power needs.
Are Solar Panels Worth it for a Tiny House?
Of course! Using solar panels for a tiny house has lots of benefits. Solar can help you save dollars on your bills annually. Having a solar power kit lowers your carbon footprint and provides you with clean, accessible power. Lastly, by being independent from the main grid, having solar Power Kit also protects your home from power outages and blackouts.
Wrapping Up
In summary, wiring up solar panels and batteries for tiny houses is totally doable but it can be intimidating. Although it doesn’t have to be. EcoFlow Power Kits change the game in solar power kit technology with the consumer in mind. For a tiny house, you can choose a smart and compact Power Kit solution that is simple to setup and customize to suit your needs.
