The Tiny House trend is gaining momentum in Germany and is inspiring an increasing number of fans. For them, the Tiny House offers a perfect opportunity to implement minimalism, sustainability and independence in the way they live – and at a manageable price. The result: a new feeling of freedom! Reason enough for us to take a closer look at this new trend.
A Tiny House is, as Is readily apparent from the term itself, a small or “tiny” house. So far so good. But where does this probably smallest dimension of houses begin and at what point does it no longer count as “tiny”?
In the USA, where the Tiny House Movement has its origins, it is now enshrined in building law that a Tiny House must have a prescribed floor area of no more than 37m². Whether the Tiny House has a solid foundation or is built on wheels and is therefore mobile, is not specified.
The situation in Great Britain is somewhat different. Here, a Tiny House or Tiny Home is generally understood to be the mobile Tiny House variant. Due to the trailer construction and the fact that they are subject to exact specifications regarding dimensions, the floor space of these Tiny Houses is usually a maximum of 200 square feet. However, there seems to be no absolute clarity in terms of terminology. While some manufacturers of mobile Tiny Houses additionally subdivide them into Micro, Tiny and Small, other distributors offer Small Houses up to approx. 1000 square feet (~100m²), which are therefore not mounted on a trailer, but built on solid ground. When in doubt, you should therefore take a closer look at what is behind the respective term.
Tiny Houses are not strictly speaking an invention of the past years, even if their increasing popularity might indicate this. The first attempts to give houses mobility and put them on a trailer can indeed be dated back to the 1920s. What may have seemed like a rather rustic invention at the time was to become the subject of a new movement, the so-called Tiny House Movement, almost eighty years later. After the topic of “Tiny Houses” had entered the public discourse in the USA at the end of the 1990s with the publication of a book (Sarah Susanka: “The Not So Big House”), the economic and financial crisis at the end of the 00s gave the Tiny Houses their latest major boost, which made them attractive to a wider public. After all, Tiny Houses are above all one thing: by far the cheapest form of real estate, which is a powerful argument in times of recession or exploding rental and property prices.
However, the reasons for the growing interest in Tiny Houses are by far not only financial, but also result from the growing awareness of their followers for alternative lifestyles and sustainability, as will be shown in the following.
As early as the beginning of the 00s, the term “Tiny House” showed an increasing trend in search queries in Great Britain. In the following years, search interest initially declined, but since the beginning of 2015, the term “Tiny House” has been searched on Google more than ever before! In a European comparison, however, the UK is only in eighth place in terms of search interest. This can be taken as evidence that the Tiny House Movement is only just starting to make inroads here in the UK – despite steadily increasing search interest – while the trend in other European countries seems to have already manifested itself. Ultimately, the rising number of people looking for tiny houses is a reliable indicator of the growing popularity of the mini houses. But what exactly is their appeal?
If you are toying with the idea of acquiring a Tiny House, a lot of questions naturally arise. In the following we want to get to the bottom of three of the most important ones.
Basically there are Tiny Houses in many different designs and varieties. If you are willing to do some work yourself and are not afraid of larger jobs indoors, you can buy a Tiny House Kit for as little as 6500 pounds! Fully upholstered models can vary greatly in price depending on your requirements. Standard models are available for about 30,000 pounds. However, if you are looking for maximum comfort in terms of features and spaciousness, you can expect prices of up to £55,000. Compared to the costs of an ordinary house, the prices for a Tiny House are nevertheless much more manageable.
In contrast to the USA, where Tiny Houses are already part of building law and construction projects are accordingly easier, the situation in Great Britain is much more complicated.
Those who want to transport their mobile Tiny House from A to B in GB generally do not have to expect any reprisals, as long as some central traffic regulations (road traffic regs) are observed. Thus, the width of the attached Tiny House may be maximum 2,55m and its length maximum 7m. Furthermore, the maximum towed load of 3.5t may not be exceeded. In addition, driving licence class BE is required to transport a Tiny House.
Under certain circumstances the permanent parking of the mobile Tiny House is no problem and does not require any permits! Since Tiny Houses are officially subject to the same regulations as caravans, this also applies to parking. A Tiny House does not require a building permit unless it is used as a main residence and does not exceed 65ft in length and 22ft in width. However, for a Tiny House to qualify as a caravan, it must comply with the regulations set out in the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Acts and be able to stand up to scrutiny. If you want to park your Tiny House on your own property, you may do so either in the driveway or in the garden (note: officially this is often referred to as “curtilage”) – but not in front of the property. In addition, there are also special conditions which must be observed. For example, a Tiny House in the garden may not exceed a maximum height of 4m and must maintain a minimum distance of 2m from the property line.
As long as the regulations mentioned here are observed, there is nothing to prevent the Tiny House from being transported or placed on your own property! However, those who want to make their Tiny House their main residence or are planning to build a permanent Tiny House are faced with much greater challenges. In this case, the bureaucratic effort associated with a building permit cannot be avoided. Such a project is generally not hopeless and the growing popularity of Tiny Houses in the UK gives rise to the hope that bureaucratic hurdles will soon be removed. However, the project “mobile Tiny House” is currently much easier to implement and also has less potential for frustration.
Anyone who has ever been in a caravan in winter knows that they are not the most well heated places. For a long time it was not necessarily different with Tiny Houses. But in the meantime, a lot has changed in terms of insulation and heating technology of Tiny Houses, which is why it is basically also possible to live comfortably in a Tiny House in winter.
The various, sometimes very sophisticated heating system solutions that are available for use in the Tiny House include infrared heating. These are space-saving, can be easily mounted on the wall or ceiling, are easy to regulate and are also multifunctional, as they can be used as a memo board or mirror at the same time. If you want to keep your electricity costs as low as possible for reasons of sustainability, we recommend choosing a gas heating system. Underfloor heating has also been installed in Tiny Houses. The choice of suitable heating systems is therefore now quite large and makes one thing clear: nobody has to freeze in a Tiny House these days.
For building law reasons, fixed Tiny Houses in Great Britain must always be connected to the drinking and waste water system. Nevertheless, probably only very few Tiny Houses use a flush toilet, as these are space-consuming on the one hand and on the other hand they are not necessarily in line with a sustainable way of life. However, if you decide to live in a tiny house, concepts such as sustainability, self-sufficiency and ecology are usually close to your heart. For this reason, waterless toilet systems such as our TROBOLO® Urine-Diverting toilets are used particularly often in Tiny Houses. The TROBOLO® TinyBlœm was developed specifically to meet the demands of life in a Tiny House and combines sustainable production and functionality with a space-saving design.
At first glance, Tiny Houses not only appear to be a cost-effective alternative to an apartment or house, but also appear to be far superior to them in terms of sustainability. To what extent this is actually the case, or what you may need to pay attention to in order to keep your ecological footprint as small as possible, the following fact-check is intended to show.
The latest model of our TROBOLO® urine-diverting toilets, the TROBOLO® TinyBlœm, has a particularly compact design, is easy to handle as usual and was specially developed to enable the use of a urine-diverting toilet even in rooms with limited space. In addition to its waterless operation, the TROBOLO® TinyBlœm is particularly impressive due to its electrical exhaust air system, which eliminates all odours with minimal power consumption and also offers various connection options thanks to its USB port. The toilet is permanently mounted on the floor or wall of your Tiny House, which effectively prevents it from moving about, for example when transporting the Tiny House. In addition, the external urine drainage option, which can be easily connected to the wastewater connection of your Tiny House, makes separate disposal unnecessary. Finally, the rounded appearance of the TROBOLO® TinyBlœm makes it a truly unique design that fits perfectly into any room concept.
Auch bei der Entwicklung unserer Modelle TROBOLO® BilaBlœm und TROBOLO® IndiBlœm bestand der spezielle Anspruch darin, besonders kompakte Trenntoiletten zu entwerfen, die auch in Räumen mit minimalem Platzangebot zum Einsatz kommen können.
Das TROBOLO® BilaBlœm ist eine fest installierbare Trenntoilette, die dank eines effizient arbeitenden elektrischen Abluftsystems sowie einer externen Urin-Ableitung insbesondere den speziellen Anforderungen von Reise- und Wohnmobilen gerecht wird. Das besonders stromsparend arbeitende Abluftsystem, dessen integrierter USB-Anschluss zudem flexible Anschlussmöglichkeiten bietet (12V, 24V oder 230V), eliminiert anfallende Gerüche restlos und zuverlässig! Die externe Urin-Ableitung lässt sich unkompliziert mit dem bereits vorhandenen Grauwassertank des Reise- oder Wohnmobils verbinden. Eine zusätzliche Entsorgung des Urins bleibt Ihnen somit gänzlich erspart und auch die Entleerung des Feststoffbehälters gestaltet sich einfach und hygienisch, wie Sie es von unseren TROBOLO® Trenntoiletten gewohnt sind. Das im Lieferumfang inbegriffene Montage-Kit ermöglicht zudem die feste Verschraubung des TROBOLO® BilaBlœm mit der Wand oder dem Boden des Wohnmobils. Somit ist eine bequeme und komfortable Nutzung des TROBOLO® BilaBlœm jederzeit garantiert – selbst während der Fahrt!
Beim TROBOLO® IndiBlœm handelt es sich um eine mobile Trockentrenntoilette mit Einstreu in gewohnter TROBOLO®-Qualität. Dank wasserloser Funktionsweise sind Sie auf keinerlei Anschlüsse angewiesen und das integrierte und zuverlässig arbeitende Trennsystem reduziert anfallende Gerüche auf ein Minimum! Darüber hinaus zeichnet sich das TROBOLO® IndiBlœm insbesondere durch sein geringes Gewicht und die sehr kompakte Bauweise aus. Zwei praktische Transportgriffe ermöglichen zudem einen Standortwechsel im Handumdrehen. Dank des integrierten Ausschwapp-Stopp-Mechanismus ist die sichere und hygienische mobile Nutzung zu jederzeit garantiert, auch wenn Sie einmal abseits asphaltierter Straßen unterwegs sein sollten. Somit eignet sich das TROBOLO® IndiBlœm optimal für die Verwendung in Wohnmobilen, Minivans oder auch auf Segelbooten!
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The TROBOLO® LuweBlœm is delivered ready for use and can be used completely odour-free in combination with litter thanks to the separation system. This option is optimal for occasional use, for example at the weekend.
The TROBOLO® LuweBlœm incl. natural exhaust system is also used in combination with litter. This option is recommended if you want to use your TROBOLO® regularly but there is no electricity connection at the place of use. This option allows you to discharge moisture and residual odours to the outside in a natural way without electricity.
The TROBOLO® LuweBlœm incl. electric exhaust system is the ideal solution for regular use, provided a power connection is available. The electric exhaust system effectively and power-savingly conducts moisture and residual odours outside via an exhaust pipe at the rear of the TROBOLO®, so that the use of litter is not necessary.
The TROBOLO® LuweBlœm incl. electric exhaust system with exhaust pipe set is ideal for regular use in a place with electricity. The electric exhaust system effectively directs moisture and residual odours to the outside via an up to 2m long exhaust pipe, which can be flexibly directed upwards or to the side. The use of litter is not necessary with this option.
The TROBOLO® TeraBlœm can be used completely odour-free in combination with litter thanks to the separation system. This option is optimal for occasional use, for example at the weekend.
The TROBOLO® TeraBlœm incl. natural exhaust system is also used in combination with litter. This option is recommended if you want to use your TROBOLO® regularly but there is no electricity connection at the place of use. This option allows you to discharge moisture and residual odours to the outside in a natural way without electricity.
The TROBOLO® TeraBlœm incl. electric exhaust system is the ideal solution for regular use, provided a power connection is available. The electric exhaust system effectively and power-savingly conducts moisture and residual odours outside via an exhaust pipe at the rear of the TROBOLO®, so that the use of litter is not necessary.
The TROBOLO® TeraBlœm incl. electric exhaust system with exhaust pipe set is ideal for regular use in a place with electricity. The electric exhaust system effectively directs moisture and residual odours to the outside via an up to 2m long exhaust pipe, which can be flexibly directed upwards or to the side. The use of litter is not necessary with this option.