As potential buyers begin to research and make their lists of needs and wants for their tiny house build, many consider the exterior look, the furniture, or even space-saving strategies. Appliances can be a great place to look at as well for potential space savings. Keeping in mind that although they are smaller they are not always cheaper. Here are Four Important Things to Consider when Shopping Tiny Home Appliances:
1. Amp Service- While many tiny houses are parked on purchased property, some are built for traveling the open road. This means they have to be retrofitted in such a way that they can plug in at a campground, tiny house village, or a regular house or garage when parked. According to the nationally recognized camping association, KOA, “Plugs on [tiny’s] with 30 amp service and 50 amp service differ in design.”A 30 amp plug has three prongs – a 120 volt hot wire, a neutral wire and a ground wire – and is generally used on RVs with lower load requirements, whereas a 50 amp plug has four prongs – two 120 volt hot wires, a neutral wire and a ground wire – that supply two separate 50 amp, 120 volt feeds. A 50 amp service home provides a maximum 12,000 watts. Even with an adapter, your 30 amp service won’t receive more power than the 3,600 watts it can handle. Conversely, if you use an adapter for a 50 amp, you’ll be limited to 3,600 watts.This is important to consider when laying out plans with your builder for what types of appliances you want to use and what type of plug in capabilities they will have when parked. Movable Roots takes special care to ensure that their clients are road ready before they build featuring, “staying on a 50-amp service. We do load calculations for the appliances, A/C, and water heaters. We do this [extra step] because it is important in case the customer places their tiny home in an RV park,” noted one of their designers.
2. Weight- For everything you add to your tiny house build, weight is a consideration. Unless you are looking at staying parked or not building on wheels, the need to move requires weight calculations to be a top priority. This will be considered for the number of axels on your trailer, trailer length, and the type of truck used to move your THOW [Tiny House on Wheels].
Movable Roots uses smaller appliances which save on weight as well as space; both top commodities in a tiny house build. This is a great find in a builder because you will hit the road knowing that your tiny is 100% road-worthy and safe for travel, no matter what size you choose to build.
3. Space-
Since appliances can be one of the bulkiest things added in a build, their size and weight must be considered. “We do not use regular home appliances. We use smaller appliances that can sometimes be slightly more expensive but they save [a lot of] space,” added Mike from Movable Roots. When making edits to your needs and wants list, be sure to consider the cost of upgrading to items like a combo washer/dryer to save the space needed to add shelving for detergent and dirty clothes. These small upgrades can make a major improvement to the overall layout of your dream tiny.
4. Performance Need-
Considering which appliances to add to your tiny house build can be a big decision. From whether or not to add a washer/dryer to choosing an apartment fridge vs residential size, the possibilities are truly endless. Movable Roots, unlike many tiny house builders, offers completely custom designs which allows the buyer to choose every aspect of their dream tiny.
Movable Roots also offers two signature models from which clients can get an idea of what customizations they may want to add, which upgrades will best suit their needs, and what luxury items are must-haves for their forever tiny house.
The Henderson and the Lee, Movable Roots’s two signature tiny house models, are gorgeous and beautifully built exceeding the standards of tiny house builds. The Henderson offers Haier appliances which are masterfully built right into the design of the kitchen. The Lee boasts Summit appliances that fit beautifully into the flow of the design. “Both units use Daiken A/C,” added a Movable Roots designer.
Air conditioning can be typically overlooked as part of the package, but the size of your tiny should be considered when deciding on how large of a system you might choose to heat and cool your THOW.
As you plan for your forever tiny home, Movable Roots can help you from the initial consultation through the customized build. Your weight, appliance choice, space-saving, and personal performance needs will be their top priority.