One of the best things about owning tiny homes is how easily you can design them without occupying too much space. They promote efficient living practices and teach people how to conserve energy, promote green living, and do away with unnecessary possessions that most people are accustomed to in this day and age.
Although tiny homes support a minimalist lifestyle, there is one thing that always makes them a better option than living in a conventional house – they are better for the environment!
History Of Tiny Homes
The tiny house movement advocates simple living and efficient use of land area. It is a manifestation of the architectural and social developments that support green living.
In fact, it was instituted to cut back on greenhouse emissions from buildings and standard homes by creating eco-friendly conditions.
Tiny homes do minimize your carbon imprint and make a tiny homeowner an advocate of environmentally-friendly living.
Apart from saving the planet, building a tiny home also lets you save on money. It allows you to avoid high mortgage payments and conserve the use of land.
You can easily travel from one place to another without worrying about loans, real estate tax, and avoid household expenses.
So why does living in tiny homes save the environment?
Tiny Spaces Use Fewer Materials
Tiny homes generally occupy about 200-400 square feet of area. While, a standard house would require you to purchase or rent a land area of up to 1,000 square meters.
When it comes to land area, you would only need a fourth of the land for a tiny home compared to a conventional home, and only half of the materials.
You significantly save the earth by using only half the amount of trees that you would use with the more expensive conventional home.
A micro house would only have one bathroom, a maximum of two to three rooms, and the kitchen would only contain the appliances that you need for basic living.
This means that you would need lesser adjustments for fixtures and repairs like a standard house would require.
According to The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, building a tiny home saves about 36% of the standard life cycle.
Tiny Homes Are Energy Efficient
Bigger spaces also require you to use more electricity and water to sustain a home. Tiny houses, on the contrary, use less energy thereby saving the Earth from more pollution.
They use less energy because it is quite simple to sustain. The smaller the house is, the easier it is to cool and heat. This means you would need less devices to power up your home and will conserve energy.
In fact, tiny homes use either generators and solar panels. This conserves energy because the latter uses natural sources of power, while the former only requires you to charge them and limit your use of electricity.
When you limit the use of electricity, you also help conserve energy, especially when you are using solar panels. It is the most efficient manner of utilizing the powers of Mother Nature without harming the environment!
According to Colby College’s estimates, regular-sized houses of this day and age would generally use around twelve 7000-kilowatt hours per year. While tiny homes would only consume 914-kilowatt hours. That is a significant decrease in energy!
The less energy you use, the more you reduce your greenhouse emissions. Greenhouse emissions are the ones that destroy the Earth’s atmosphere and cause drastic changes to the weather and the planet’s temperature.
Generally, standard homes would generate around 28,000 of greenhouse gas emissions per year while tiny homes only release 2,000 pounds a year. Again, the extreme cuts on harmful chemicals released on Earth make tiny homeowners one of the heralds of saving the planet.
Most Tiny Homes Are Made Of Recycled Materials
The Tiny Home Movement was established to promote minimalist living which actually means recycling materials to sustain a home. In fact, most tiny homes that are quite stylish are made of shipping containers!
Some tiny homes are also made up of recycled toilets, furnaces, ornaments, and lightings. Many people even opt for compost toilets and power their abode with solar panels as their source of electricity.
If you wish to buy your materials, you may also cut back on expenses when you opt for the recycled ones.
They cost significantly lower than brand new products but are equally functional.
Some tiny home providers even build tiny homes by strictly using recycled materials as well!
Although these tiny homes are made up of recycled items, they are just as functional as standard homes.
The toilet works perfectly, the solar panels provide sufficient energy that would last you all night even when the sun’s nowhere to be found; and may even provide a rustic yet stylish design to your home.
Maximizes Your Time Outdoors
You will also save the Earth by spending more time outside of your home where you would not need electricity and just enjoy the gifts of nature.
The mobility of tiny homes gives you this advantage. RVs and trailers can easily be transported from one place to the other, thereby making you enjoy the outdoors more often than sitting at home watching TV.
Not only does gadgets and television use cost you electricity, it also harms your health both physically and mentally. If you own a tiny home, you promote an outdoor lifestyle.
This would mean that you would use appliances less often. You would not need to cool or heat your home as frequently and you can easily bond with your family outdoors.
This also allows you to connect to the environment more frequently. According to Carleton College’s Undergraduate Journal of Humanistic Studies, spending more time outdoors raises awareness of what’s damaging the earth.
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Compared to living in apartment buildings and immovable houses, forging a direct connection with nature allows people to appreciate the environment more. In fact, most tiny homeowners are advocates of green living.
They tend to think in a practical and minimalistic way that they depend more on nature for their basic necessities than relying on technology. This means that you get to be more nature-loving instead of computer-savvy. This mindset definitely saves the Earth in a big way!
Why Tiny Homes Is The Best Option
The Earth has been suffering for decades due to factories, increasing greenhouse emissions, and the lack of proper discipline of most people who couldn’t care less about Mother Nature.
Living in tiny homes definitely generates a big impact on our environment. It helps you minimize your personal carbon emissions, conserve energy, reduce pollution, and develop a deep care for Mother Earth. This is definitely the reason why tiny homes are better for the environment and the future!
