Gorgeous Off Grid Renovated 100-Year-Old Solar Cabin in the Forest

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This Montana cabin is one of the most beautiful (and inspiring) examples we have seen of truly living off the grid and off of the land.  As the owner states, this is “living radical simplicity”.

The renovated 100-year-old solar-powered cabin is 450 square feet with a 225 square foot addition, for a total living space of 675 square feet. 

It has a huge garden for growing food and a root cellar for food storage. Water for the cabin and the garden comes from a spring that sits above it. 

The cabin uses wood stove heat, with additional heat and light provided by the sunroom & greenhouse addition. Solar curtains are used to keep the cabin cooler in the summer and to keep heat in during the winter.

 

The two 135 watt solar panels are angled to get the maximum amount of wintertime sun possible. The panels provide all of the power needed to run the LED lights, refrigerator, and outlets for appliances, phone charger, and computer. 

During extended cloudy periods when the refrigerator might not get enough power from the solar panels, a cold box is used to store food. The only thing in the cabin not powered by the solar panels is the stove, which uses about 20 gallons of propane a year.

Renovating a 100 year old Montana Cabin in a meadow surrounded by pine forest: Living radical simplicity in an off-the-grid, passive solar design cabin with a cheap, simple, and efficient solar electric system, food-producing forest garden, and root cellar. There is a spring above the cabin that provides gravity flow water for the cabin’s one sink and the garden, two 135 W solar panels, two 275 amp hour batteries, 80 acres of pine forest to manage for wood heat addition to the passive solar gain, and a blending of old technology and new technology.

Learn more about the owner’s forest garden system at http://veganicpermaculture.com/