Thermal comfort in TH in winter

Resting in nature in a small wooden house we intuitively associate with the warm months of the year. And yet the need to relax and spend time away from the hustle and bustle of the city is present in us constantly. Thanks to it, we take care of our well-being and peace of mind. In winter, when the days are colder and darkness falls after working hours, we need frequent "battery recharging" even more. A weekend at a small house, among colorful leaves in the woods or on a hill covered with white powder can be our time to seek balance and energy for the week ahead. 

The colder months are, of course, more demanding in terms of maintaining thermal comfort inside a house on wheels. REDUKT houses, however, are designed for year-round use. Learn about our ways to maintain year-round thermal comfort in houses on wheels.

Photo: REDUKT

Thermal insulation

The basic form of thermal insulation is provided at the construction stage of the house. In our houses we have opted for diffusion-open, "breathable" walls. We fill the walls with wood fiber, mineral wool or sheep wool. These types of insulators prevent the accumulation of moisture inside the house, creating a healthy and friendly microclimate for the residents.

Photo: REDUKT

Double glazing

Thermal comfort in the colder months of the year is ensured not only by good wall and roof insulation. A major role is also played by double-glazed windows and doors, which, despite their relatively large surface area, protect the interior from cooling. And at the same time they make it possible to admire winter paintings on glass.

Heating

Depending on the customer's preferences and needs, houses can be equipped with the following forms of interior heating: 

- IR (infra-red) heating foils in the floor, 

- electric or gas heaters, 

- air conditioner with heating function, 

- wood burning stove.

Photo: REDUKT

The foils and air conditioning can be controlled remotely via WIFI. This makes it possible, among other things, to heat up in the house before arrival or to ensure constant comfort by automatically turning on the heating at a set temperature.

An addition to the houses’ interiors that gives them a cozy character is a wood stove. It is a source of heat that takes care of the comfort of body and spirit in the colder evenings and warms up the atmosphere inside the house, even when the wind is blowing outside. Nothing soothes the senses better than the sight of a cheerful living flame in the stove... :)

Photo: REDUKT

When designing REDUKT houses, we take special care of the well-being of those using them both as permanent housing and as temporary residences. We want to make staying in them comfortable regardless of the season and weather.

Preparation for winter in TH

Winter comes with many challenges - tiny houses on wheels require special protection in the fall and winter season. Both off-grid houses and houses connected to the media on the plot should be equipped with systems that protect them against the negative effects of temperature drops. Prepare your house for winter early enough to avoid unpleasant consequences.

Here are the 5 most important steps:

1. Check the stove and the chimney 

Before the first freeze of the season check the condition of the wood burning stove. Make sure that the chimney is clear of any buildup. A dirty chimney can be a fire hazard, so you might hire a sweep to ensure it’s clear. If necessary, also service the HVAC system (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning system). Replace the furnace filter or schedule a service appointment so that your heating system is ready to use before you need it.

Photo: REDUKT

It is also a good idea to prepare a supply of wood, especially if the wood burning stove will be the main source of heat on cold, long evenings. Stoves in tiny houses might need small size logs. The sight of a live fire in the stove and the smell of wood will certainly create a cozy atmosphere so that you can enjoy the winter views outside the window with a cup of hot tea in your hand.

2. Clean the gutters

Gutters collect and carry away rainwater and melting snow away from the roof to prevent water from seeping in and causing damage. However, gutters can’t do this very important job when they’re clogged with dead leaves and other debris. So step up on a ladder and make sure your gutters are clear before the first snowfall.

Photo: REDUKT

3. Prepare snow removal tools 

Before there is even a single flake in the forecast, make sure that all of your snow removal tools, including shovels and de-icing agents for downpipes, are ready to use. Having an anti-freezing installation in downpipes helps but still needs some care. Shovel your roof to reduce the burden of snow and ice and protect your gutters. This might be a small task on your winterizing list, but it’s an important one.

4. Be sure that the anti freezing water installation is turned on 

REDUKT houses are equipped in anti-freezing water installation to protect water pipes, valves and a tank from damages. Heating cables in gutters are also an additional option. This is our “winter package”. The system turns on automatically when the temperature drops below the temperature set on the controller. Check if the system is connected to the network and if the appropriate activation temperature has been set.

Additionally, for houses that are not used in winter: 

5. Drain the water from the water installation

If your house is used only as a summer residence and you won’t use it in winter, be sure to drain the water from the water installation before the temperature drops below zero. The excessive water pressure may exceed the pipes' structural capacity to withstand force, leading to a sudden burst.
If you have an off-grid house equipped with a water tank, empty it along with the entire installation.

Photo: REDUKT

The consequences of low temperatures if the house is not properly prepared before the winter season can cost a lot. Following the above steps will allow you to use your tiny house and enjoy the charms of winter, without having to worry about its condition during the cold period.

Discover our houses. REDUKT PURA part 2

When designing REDUKT tiny houses, we want to reinterpret housing itself and what a place to live is. We are considering how to reduce our impact on the environment and gently become part of it. We dream of being able to live in a place we have spontaneously come to love and find the balance of daily life there.

That's what a couple from Vienna was looking for as well when they ordered a REDUKT PURA mobile house from us.

Photo: Emanuel Kaspar

Mobility is the key

Their plot of land in the south of Austria offers a beautiful view of the surrounding hills, but building a house on it would have been time-consuming and expensive. As the hosts are open to changes, they decided to buy a house on wheels where mobility is an additional advantage. This flexibility in choosing where to live opens up new opportunities and new window frames for the future.

Photo: Emanuel Kaspar

Tiny house with off-grid package

The house had to be energy self-sufficient, leave the smallest possible carbon footprint and provide a healthy microclimate for the homeowners. Taking on the first challenge, we equipped it with a full off-grid package, including:

- a comprehensive Victron Energy solar power system with solar panels on the roof and an inverter, generating electricity that is stored in a battery,

- a 400-liter water tank with filters, providing bathroom and kitchen facilities,

- a dry composting toilet that does not need to be connected to the sewer system,

- a gas water heater, conveniently providing hot water for showering at any time of the day or night,

- wood stove - an extremely effective and at the same time sensual source of heat that warms you up on cold evenings.

Photo: REDUKT

The efficiency of the solar system allows the lighting installation in a typical 230V system, supportingly infrared heating floor foils for an extra comfort and a full-size under-counter refrigerator in the kitchen.

The PURA house was designed with a large technical room under the lowered mezzanine, where all technical devices are located, along with the sensors controlling them, acting as a cockpit but with autopilot on ;)

The house remains easy to operate, while providing its owners the comfort of staying all year round on the plot without access to any utilities.

Alternative housing

The second theme – healthy alternative construction – is embedded in the DNA of the REDUKT brand. Our houses are built using timber construction; here we filled the certified spruce timber frame with our favorite material – sheep wool. It is not only an effective insulator, but also breaks down pollutants and odors, dampens noise and regulates moisture by absorbing or releasing it, being a natural air conditioner. It is also 100% renewable and compostable.

Photo: REDUKT

The house's interior walls are finished with poplar plywood and treated with hard oil wax based on renewable natural raw materials. They remain open diffusively, which allows the interior to "breathe".

The aesthetics of the interior are complemented by noble natural oak flooring and plywood furniture in contrasting colors, essential to the full functionality of the space we designed down to the last detail.

Photo: REDUKT

Interior of the house

PURA house always welcomes with:

- a spacious living area, open to the surrounding landscape through the glazings, where you can sit on fold-out corner sofa,

- a functional kitchenette,

- a bedroom on a mezzanine with a skylight window,

- a comfortable bathroom with a shower.

Photo: REDUKT

Our standard model also has a fold-out desk along with a side cabinet by the narrow, high window. The sliding ladder next to it provides convenient access to the mezzanine overlooking the stars.

Photo: REDUKT

In harmony with nature

The architecture of PURA house blended perfectly with the surrounding landscape, generously framing nature through huge windows. The sloping roof, along with the dark wood facade, continue the line of sloping roofs of neighboring houses and the hillsides.

Our dream was to build a house that heals the body and mind. According to its inhabitants, the goal has been achieved.

Photo: Emanuel Kaspar

Discover our houses. REDUKT PURA.

"Hello! I'm looking for a tiny house on wheels. I really like your houses, especially REDUKT PURA.”

This is how our acquaintance with our German client, a landscape designer, began. She was looking for a tranquil recreational accommodation on a plot between water and forest - by the Teltow Canal in Berlin-Wannsee. After three months REDUKT PURA house has moved west, completely ready to welcome its owners.

Photo: airbnb.de

The client's first choice turned out to be a success. She wanted to have a house that, despite its small size, would allow for a comfortable stay not only for the couple, but also for their family of four.

The biggest advantage of PURA model is a clever solution that increases the height of the mezzanine while providing a fully functional space on the ground floor. The lowered mezzanine, easily accessible by stairs, allows two people to sleep comfortably, to read (we also designed a bookcase there), to relax and... to breathe deeply. You can spend a "night under the stars" in comfortable sheltered conditions there, thanks to the roof window located directly above your head.

Photo: airbnb.de

Double entrance doors completely open the living area to the vast terrace and greenery around the house. Smaller windows - looking at each other on both sides of the living room - provide access to the sunlight at any time of the day and a natural air flow.
A soaring gable roof adds splendor, doubling the feeling of interior space, often higher than the height of our standard apartments. Its dynamic form is finished with black  metal sheets, matching the darkened spruce façade. This dark colors composition blends the house with the surrounding nature, in the play of lights and shadows of tree leaves.

The heart of this house is a wide corner sofa - from which you can admire the views outside. It plays a triple role: a comfortable lounge furniture, a spacious storage compartment and when unfolded - an additional sleeping space for two people. In the living area there is also a fully equipped kitchen with a wide laminate worktop, sink, two-burner stove, fridge, dishwasher and many cabinets, drawers and shelves. It has everything that you need to enjoy cooking with your loved ones. An extension of this zone is a foldable table that you can place in front of the sofa or on the terrace. Next to the entrance door there is an all-in-one-piece wardrobe. It has a special shoe compartment and a practical hanger for outerwear on one side and a small work desk on the other.

Photo: airbnb.de

The technical room (a key for off-grid houses, here serves also as a laundry room) is located under the mezzanine. There is an additional wardrobe allowing for a comfortable long-term stay. The comfort is complemented by infrared floor heating and air conditioning, which ensures year-round comfort due to heating and cooling. 

The bathroom area is separated from the living space by a lightweight sliding door made of the same poplar plywood that was used to finish the walls. Despite its small size, the bathroom is equipped with a full-size shower, a washbasin with a cabinet and a toilet with a sewage connection. When entering the bathroom, we are greeted by the view of greenery framed by a window placed above the sink.

Photo: airbnb.de

Relaxing with a book on a spacious sofa, eating at a fold-out table designed by us, working, singing in the shower, sleeping with the moonlight on your face, you won't believe that 6.6 x 2.5 meters was enough to ensure the comfort of this house. 

Tiny house - micro hotel business

A weekend spent off-line in a tiny house on the edge of the forest, surrounded by nature, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Thousands of residents of large, crowded cities dream about a way to regain work-life balance like this. The answer to their needs are tiny houses as micro hotels, which, thanks to a number of advantages, are gaining more and more popularity among hotel businesses.

Credits: @bento_houses. Photo: Bartek Warzecha

Tiny house as a micro hotel

The functionality of tiny houses goes beyond the role of a small flat or a private office. Small apartments on wheels successfully work as micro hotels, located in picturesque but not obvious locations. Their popularization was significantly influenced by the growing trend of the need to escape from the city, disconnect and meet natural surroundings. More and more people appreciate the time to rest and recharge batteries in close contact with nature, far from the noise of the city.

So how to take advantage of this trend in a business based on tiny houses?

Adapting a tiny house for your own hotel business can be done on any scale - from a single apartment to a network of houses for rent. The advantage of prefabricated tiny houses among other creative hotel investments is that they can be placed in unobvious locations, not yet considered for hotels, or even on rented plots. The new business model of tiny houses on wheels is based on three-way benefits. The beneficiaries are:

• the owner of the house,

• the owner of the plot from whom the land is leased

• and guests of the micro hotel.

Photo: Houses for rent - REDUKT PURA and REDUKT BALI - located in Germany. Credits: @raus.life

Advantages of TH in hotel business

The hotel business based on tiny houses has many other advantages. One of them is the wide range of possibilities of adapting such a house to individual requirements of the investor as well as conditions of the location. A small apartment on wheels can stand, for example, on a private recreational land. The plot does not have to belong to the owner of the micro hotel - it can be a rented plot, even temporarily. The house can be transported on the trailer to another place after some time, also one that does not have access to utilities. Mobile houses, thanks to the off-grid package, can be autonomous objects located even in hard-to-reach locations.

REDUKT Country house for rent near Warsaw.
Credits: @bento_houses. Photo: Bartek Warzecha

Short time of investment

Another feature of the discussed hotel business is the possibility of shortening the investment process to a minimum. The advantage of prefabricated mobile houses is the short time of their implementation from the design to the finished apartment. After adjusting to the investor’s preferences and the conditions of the terrain, a fully equipped and ready-to-rent house is delivered to the customer within 2-3 months. This allows for shortening the financing process and a relatively quick return on investment.

REDUKT PURA house available for rent between Berlin and Potsdam. Photo: REDUKT

Remote management of a micro hotel

In addition, it is possible to equip the house for rent with smart devices, which allows, among other advantages, for remote management. Thanks to smart devices, you can have remote access to advanced information on electricity resources from photovoltaic panels, water level in the tank or gas. Both you and your clients using a dedicated mobile app, have control of locking and unlocking the apartment doors. And to increase the user's comfort, it is possible to modify the heating and lighting settings of the house on an ongoing basis, depending on the changing needs.

The off-grid package in REDUKT houses includes: solar panels, water tank, waterless composting toilet and remote control devices located in the technical room. Photo: REDUKT

Year-round rental business

Mobile houses for rent are an option for passive income all year round. The use of the winter package allows you to transform a summer house into an all-year house. Thanks to this, your micro hotel can be rented even in winter. The off-grid package with dedicated systems installed in REDUKT houses works well at any time of the year.

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We invite you to check out our offer of REDUKT houses. We support investors with our experience in the selection of materials as well as technical and practical solutions for houses intended for rent. Contact us to find out more.

Main photo: Bartek Warzecha. Credits: @bento_houses