Going off grid and getting back to basics has been growing in popularity here in New Zealand, with tiny homes becoming especially popular as place to live. They tie in really well with some common goals of moving off grid: saving money, simplifying your life, and self-sufficiency.
If you’ve chosen to go tiny in your off-grid journey, we’ve got a 5 tips and suggestions to help with the planning!
Know the rules and regulations
Tiny homes are commonly designed between 10-30sqm, partly to fit on trailers and partly in the hope of reducing consent requirements. However, whether consent is needed depends on how the house is classified under the Building Act — not just its size. Check the Schedule 1 exemptions under the building act. See this document for more information and guidance.
Having a THOW (tiny house on wheels) comes with a few constraints if you want it street legal as a light trailer - like a caravan. If your trailer exceeds 2.55m in width (including wheels), it must be transported as a 'load'. This means you will need to comply with over dimension load requirements. By law, you will need to consider travel time restrictions, pilot vehicles, and bigger vehicles to move the load. For the full set of light trailer dimension limits, see the Land Transport Rule guidance on the NZTA/Waka Kotahi website.
Keep in mind that even if your THOW meets road rules, councils may still consider it a dwelling under the Building Act or Resource Management Act. If your dwelling connects to local utilities and is used as a long-term dwelling, building and/or resource consents may be required.
Choose Your Electricity Source
Most people in tiny homes choose to go off-grid with their power, giving them the freedom to settle into a location where there isn’t mains power available, the ability to move around without worrying about power, and protection from any mains power outages. Plus, there’s real satisfaction in knowing your energy is self-sufficient.
When it comes to off-grid generation, solar power leads the way. It’s the most reliable, affordable, and widely applicable option for tiny homes. That’s why it pays to think about your solar setup early in the design phase. Ask yourself:
- Will your panels be ground or roof mounted?
- Is your site shaded?
- Where will you store batteries and components?
(Somewhere dry, insulated, and away from the noise of cooling fans is ideal.) - What types appliances should you be using?
Living tiny naturally cuts down on energy use, but some appliances are notoriously power-hungry. Electric hot water cylinders, ovens, and space heaters can demand more energy than a compact solar system can handle. Swapping them for alternatives like gas stoves, califonts, woodburners, or solar hot water keeps your system realistic and affordable.
When sizing your solar, aim a little bigger than your calculated usage so you’ve got breathing room. Choosing a system that can be upgraded later also pays off — especially for families who may need more capacity over time. Our Solar Calculator is a great starting point to estimate your daily energy use.
Finally, installation must be done by a qualified electrician. With GridFree, we’ll help you pick the right system, connect you with trusted local installers across the country, and support you long after setup — so you can enjoy the freedom of off-grid power with confidence.
Prepare Your Water Collection, Storage, and Treatment
Even if you do have access to electricity in the chosen location for your tiny home, it’s usually less common to have water access, so you’ll have to look at other options for a water source. The most common is rainwater, as it’s universally available. If you have a spring, stream, or other natural water source on your property, you can also use these to increase your supply.
You then need to give some thought to storage and treatment. This article has a section that delves into it more, but for storage the general recommendation is enough to get you through 2 weeks - considering that the average person (on-grid) uses about 200 litres a day for cooking, drinking, and hygiene. There are plenty of treatment options available such as UV filtration, and the right choice will depend on your water source and volume.
Reducing electrical needs by opting for gravity fed water is quite common – it involves having water holding tanks above your tiny home, such as up a hill, so that gravity provides the necessary pressure to move water around your home instead of a pump. You probably can’t collect your water on top of that hill, so a great way to move water from either a stream or your rainwater collection tank up into that holding tank is a solar water pump. This is a simple system using solar panels, a controller, and a pump, and it simply pumps when the sun is out, and stops when either the sun goes away, the holding tank is full, or the collection tank is empty.
Make the Most of Your Waste
Many people who go tiny are keen to reduce their environmental footprint, as well as being completely independent, and waste is an important area where you can be more self-sufficient. Everything from food scraps to blackwater can be handled in a closed loop with the right setup, just keep in mind that different councils have different regulations that you may need to familiarise yourself with.
Homemade biogas has been gaining popularity in recent years, as it uses your household food scraps, animal manure, and human waste to create both gas that you can cook with and liquid fertiliser. There are instructions available online to create your own, or you can purchase a kitset from a company like HomeBiogas.
Many off-gridders opt for a composting toilet whether they intend to create biogas or not, as it simplifies plumbing and creates a source of compost, with a urine diverter to create a nitrogen rich fertiliser.
For those that want a regular flushing toilet instead, you can install a septic system such as Natural Flow or a vermiculture (worm) system that treats blackwater and greywater, and disperses it into the ground. Check out WaterFlow for more information and products of this variety.
Many off-gridders also set up separate grey water treatment to divert their water back into the gardens, maximising the utility of all collected water. There are DIY instructions, kits, and companies who will install all of these, to suit any level of ability.
Maximise Your Living Space
If you’ve looked into tiny homes in any detail, you’ll be very familiar with the space constraints that come with them. A lot of people will opt to move the bed up onto a loft, giving them more space for the living area and kitchen, while some will make the couch into a convertible bed. It all comes down to how many people are living in the space and what feels comfortable.
Creative storage solutions are also a popular element in tiny homes, as their owners try to make use of every single bit of space available. Most commonly the space under the stairs and under the seating are used for storage, but we’ve also seen shallow drawers installed underneath cabinets (where the toe kicks would normally go). Hanging items like pots and pans is also a great way to make use of the vertical space. Closed cabinets rather than open shelves can help cut down on visual clutter, making even a very full home feel tidier.
You can also make full use of your outdoor space by adding a covered deck with patio blinds – this gives you a great space to store muddy boots, dry laundry in winter, or just expand your living space. Many people will add a bar leaner under the kitchen window to make an outdoor breakfast bar. When adding decks and lean-tos, investigate the building act as these rules may change your consent rules.
In addition to making the space work for you, making sure you fill it with items that complement is will make life easier. Choosing compact appliances can make a big difference – anyone who has ever had a small kitchen knows the importance of having compact or multitasking appliances. Too-big appliances and uni-tasking items just create clutter, making your space feel more chaotic and harder to work in. Ditching the TV in lieu of a projector and pulldown projector screen is a popular option when wall space is at a premium.
See how other people are living tiny by checking out our tiny house videos in the GridFree Living series, or browse our products to find the right solar solution for your tiny home.