Living in a Yurt
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 11.16.07
Yurts are almost a no-go zone on TreeHugger along with Birkenstocks and ponchos, but when I learned that David Masters of the Luna Project lived in one just a few minutes away from Cambridge, Ontario, I had to check it out. He actually has two of them made by Oregon's Pacific Yurts, a 30' diameter 706 square foot classroom, and a 24' diameter home unit.
Both yurts are set below the brow of the hill for protection from the winds, built on decks that are bolted together and sitting on deck pads rather than foundations so that they can be taken apart and removed without a trace. I thought this iffy on a hill but Dave hasn't slid away yet.
One enters from a lovely deck
And the interior is a revelation. Round rooms are tough to furnish, but placing the bookcase in the middle divides it up wonderfully into zones.
with a nice Ikea kitchen with alcohol stove and full fridge.
there is a cozy work area next to the stove, which is the sole source of heat. The yurt's walls are made from seven layers of reflective insulation.
the electrical system's controls are mounted on the bookcase;
all the electricity needed to power the place comes from two solar panels and a small turbine generating 3.2 Kw per day and stored in 4 batteries, set at the top of the hill.
We talk all the time about living with less; Dave lives in 706 square feet with off grid power, a composting toilet, a shower and a full kitchen and didn't give anything up at all to live in comfort and style. When you live in 706 square feet you don't need much to run it; he collects water from his roof, power from the sun and wind, heat from sustainably cut wood. He spends about six hundred bucks a year for his propane barbeque, gas for his chainsaw and log splitter and that is about it. He appears to enjoy it, imagine if more of us lived this way. Check out the ::Luna Project
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- How to Use a Solar Oven: Beans and Rice Recipe
- How to Use a Solar Cooker: What Works and What Doesn't
- 5 Reuses for Altoid Tins
- 7 Great Weekend Solar Power Projects
- 5 Reuses for CDs: Turn Old CDs into New Geek Gear
- Stop Buying Packaged Cereal! 5 Awesome Granola Recipes to Try Instead
Kw is a measure of power, not stored energy. If you want to tell us how much energy he harvests in a day it should be in Kilowatt-hours.
Also, not everyone can live like this, there isn't enough room on the face of the earth. (Not that I wouldn't like to)
This is a great way to live. I'm still a young guy, but when I'm looking for a house i think after this a yurt might be the way to go. However I'm from Toronto, and I'm a little worried about it being too cold during the winter, is it alright even on some of the -40 days that sometimes come around?
Young Guy - you can purchase additional insulation liners and upgrades for snow loads from Pacific Yurts and Rainier Yurts - I think they have specs on their sites that can tell you how much cold it could withstand.
I think this is a cool idea if you can manage to pull it off. I would love to only spend about $600 in living expenses and do something good for the environment! Sometimes I think we forget that people use to live with a lot less than we do nowdays.
what do you mean no room, griffin?
Young guy,
Consider Colorado Yurts too. They have an insulation package.
I would live like that ANY day....NO question asked!
I stayed in a Yurt in Mongolia. It was minus 20 C and very comfortable with the stove in the center of the yurt for very even radiant heating.
You could move closer if you wanted to but I found that sitting on the bed/seating at the perimiter of the yurt at this temperature was very comfortable.
They heat with grass and animal dung because their are no trees in the Mongolian steps.
Excellent article. I'm impressed. I'd love to try it. I plan to retire in 5 years and absolutely would consider living like that. How can I get more info about other people who are living like that?
I live in a Yurt in England and the one trick I've learned for keeping warm is to recycle bubble wrap and place it in layers around the wal. I then covered it inside and out with linen (inside) and canvas (outside). It makes for a VERY cosy yurt and also doesn't sucumb to mold and mildew. I got the bubble wrap very cheap as it had been preused and also some of it was from offcuts.
I also added two nylon lines around the perimeter of my yurt that keep it VERY stable even in gale force winds.
Hope these tips help.