Living in a Tiny House Heated with FREE Solar Power in Canada

Gabriel Parent-Leblanc heats his tiny house with an awesome solar air heater. He built his tiny house to prove it was possible to live in a tiny house year round in a northern climate. Not only did he succeed (he’s been living in it for almost 2 years) but he also has one of the smallest heating bills I’ve ever seen. In the winter of 2014/2015, which was one of the coldest in the last 100 years, he spent only 0 on heat thanks to his solar air heater panel which provided the bulk of his heat during the day.

Gabriel built his own tiny house with the help of friends and also started the first tiny house company in Quebec, Canada: Habitations MicroÉvolution:
http://www.habitationsmicro.com/

The solar air heater he uses is distributed by EcoSolaris and they’re planning to release a new and improved model very soon (we filmed a video about it for you, coming soon!):
http://www.ecosolaris.ca/en/products_and_services/solar-air-heating-system.php

At night, Gabriel uses an electric heater that is plugged into an energy meter to track how much energy he uses for heat. This isn’t the exact meter he used but it was something like this:

His tiny house design was focussed on creating a spacious and comfortable living room with a massive u-shaped sitting area that has the option to put up a table up to make it a dinette, or put down the table to make it an extra bed.

He’s also got a galley kitchen, a sleeping loft, storage loft, and small bathroom with a shower and composting toilet.

The fact that Gabriel’s house is run almost completely on solar power is pretty impressive. He’s got 750 Watts on his roof that power the lights, fridge, water pump, and all of his electrical outlets; and his solar air heating panel provides a lot of his heating needs.

While he is living almost completely off grid in a suburb of Montreal, one thing Gabriel does find challenging is his small water tank. It only holds 100 litres so he often has to re-fill it with a hose. With his metal roof he could probably install a rainwater catchment system to provide some of his water needs.

You can find out more about Gabriel’s tiny house business and his workshops here:
http://www.habitationsmicro.com/en/produit/tiny-house-workshop-presentations/

You can also follow Gabriel on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ExGqlPYJSdwnsqSuGTnJA

For anyone interested in the products Gabriel mentioned in the video (his trailer, the vertical planter, tiny house plans, natural wood oil), check out his store here:
http://www.habitationsmicro.com/en/boutique/

Thanks for watching!

Mat & Danielle

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VIDEO CREDITS
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Music & Song Credits:
All music in this video was composed, performed, and recorded by Mat of Exploring Alternatives.

Editing Credits:
Mat and Danielle of Exploring Alternatives

Filming Credits:
Mat of Exploring Alternatives

Photo Credits:
Still shots of the tiny house in winter, and of Gabriel teaching his tiny house workshop were taken by Jean-Sébastien Poirier from Daedalos Media http://www.daedalosmedia.com/ minimalist
Video Rating: / 5

20 thoughts on “Living in a Tiny House Heated with FREE Solar Power in Canada”

  1. Thank you so much for sharing your home and experience. I also live in a northern climate and was concerned about heating, so this is very encouraging. I have been looking for eco and environmentally friendly heating solutions and this is the first time I'm seeing the solar wall idea! Very cool. I would like to be completely off grid, so thank you for sharing your solar set up. I would love to see more videos on details of solar set ups and environmentally friendly solutions to plumbing, heating, and electricity in the home. Thank you so much for this video exploring alternatives team.

    Reply
  2. excellent video and also a beautiful tiny home; we live in northern Ontario and my husband and I are ready to downsize in a few years. Thinking seriously about this alternative to save money and sell the big house and downsize. Would love to contact you; can you send me info ?

    Reply
  3. I just got land and will begin building in the spring. I was diagnosed with a brain tumor and had to sell my homes in order to be seen by specialist at Duke. I feel very blessed as it's been 8yrs this yr n I was given 12mths to live. I am losing some vision and I've decided to go ahead with my dream of building a tiny home. I'm not a carpenter but I've watched hundreds of videos and I'm researching my heating and cooling options Thankyou for the informative information. I plan on videoing my personal journey to help others and give them hope. Lord knows if I can build a tiny home Anyone can lol. God bless you!

    Reply
  4. My Bull#$%^ meter is going off, no way are his solar panels providing any worthwhile power in winter. If anyone watching this thinks those solar panels are providing his power…..well ask him about the extension cord hooked up to his families house. I think people watching this shouldn't be fooled, solar in winter in quebec is next to worthless.

    Reply
  5. Very nice! I just got a piece of property in the Muskoka in Ontario. Looking into what I can do on it. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  6. I love seeing the tiny houses being built in Quebec. I’m from there and it’s nice to see the movement develop there where life is so expensive. Beautiful home you have!

    Reply

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