Stay cozy all winter: 11 Tips for Tiny Home Living in Cold-Weather

Updated: 9 hours ago

How can I prepare my THOW

for a hard freeze?

Thankfully in Texas we don't have to endure below freezing temperatures for very long,

but for those arctic blasts, and for folks thinking about tiny home living in a more wintery climate, we wanted to share some tips that we have found helpful for staying warm & keeping your THOW in good shape during freezing weather.

Snowy woods with a Pioneer Model Tiny Home built by Indigo River Tiny Homes. — Blueberry Hill, an off-grid Pioneer built by Indigo River, located on a blueberry farm in upstate New York.

Take a tour of an

#IRTHoriginal

"Blueberry Hill"

38' long x 10' wide x 14' tall Pioneer Model

~ 20,000 lbs.

380 square feet

Don't let your Pipes Freeze!

Use a heated hose for your fresh water line or wrap the hose up in heat tape.
Pour RV pipe antifreeze down your drain lines before you go to bed. This is especially important in the bathtub or shower drain, as they are usually below the floor and more susceptible to freezing. 1 - 2 cups should be enough. Use this technique only for overnight freezing temps as the anti-freeze will get washed down the drain with use.
Open the cabinet doors under your sinks to keep the space around the interior pipes warm.
Keep your faucets running with a pencil lead width stream of water. You need to run both hot & cold water to keep all the lines from freezing.
While drain lines rarely freeze, it is still a good idea to heat tape any exposed drain lines under your house. You shouldn’t need to wrap the pipe like you do with the freshwater line because the drain line rarely fills up with water. Simply apply the heat tape to the bottom side of the exposed drain pipes.

Does your tiny have cold floors?

Is it hot in the lofts

& cold downstairs?

These are common problems in tiny homes on wheels since they are typically open underneath and hot air rises.

Use more rugs. This adds an extra layer of insulation to your floor to hold in more physical heat, and it also makes your space feel more cozy.
Add a space heater. A lot of tiny homes come with a mini-split system to heat the home which is mounted up high on the wall. The problem is that the temperature sensor is in the unit up there close to the ceiling, when the desired temperature is met up there, it shuts off. And it could be as much as 10 degrees colder down by the floor.
Run your ceiling fan to help push the hot air down to the lower level.
Heated rugs or mats can provide additional heat in specific areas.
Replace your flooring with in-floor heating. We recommend this upgrade to anyone building a house for full-time living in a climate colder than Texas.
Build skirting around your house or deck. This will help keep the wind from blowing under your home and help protect the pipes underneath. There are insulated and uninsulated options available. The skirting should be ventilated so moisture does not build up underneath your house during warm months. You can cover these vents when it gets cold to help keep it warm underneath.