Room for greener good

Estimating her expenses to live for two years in New Haven, Connecticut, while a graduate student at Yale University, Elizabeth Turnbull arrived at $14,000 (Dh51,423), even if she shared an apartment.

“Well, if I am going to spend that much, is there something more creative I can do with it?'' she asked.

Compact solution

There was. An incoming student at Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Turnbull decided to build her own living space. It would be tiny, transportable and ever so environmentally friendly — as green as grass.

For months she has been building it on the grounds of the Governor's Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts, a preparatory school she attended. She works in a nearby town as a sustainability coordinator with a building company.

Her new home-to-be is 8 feet by 18 feet and built atop a flatbed trailer. It has a tiny sleeping loft, a storage loft, a study nook, a kitchen area, a living area and a bathroom.

She plans to tow it to New Haven in the early autumn to a site within biking distance of the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

The house is so compact she expects to light it and power her cellphone and laptop with the energy generated from three solar panels that total about 18 square feet. That's renewable energy, free.

She'll cook her meals and heat the Tiny House — as she calls it — with propane. She estimates her yearly propane cost will be $200 (Dh735) maximum.

The house has a recyclable aluminium roof, uses recycled boat sails for ceilings, features insulation from a waste soya product and environmentally friendly paints.

Many fixtures and building materials were donated by people who had lumber or hardware left over from a household renovation.

Nothing goes waste

Assuming it meshes with local regulations, she'll have a toilet that recycles human waste. The bathroom — toilet and shower stall combined — measures 3 feet by 3-1/2 feet.

So far, Turnbull has spent about $8,000 (Dh29,386) on the house and expects it to cost about $11,000 (Dh40,406) when finished and furnished.

Turnbull is now adding final touches to the house. “You don't need a lot to live well,'' she said.