Off-Grid Home Ecocapsule To Hit the Market This Year

Kristine Lofgren writes: If you dream of living totally off-the-grid anywhere in the world, you need to get your hands on this home. Nice Architects just unveiled their incredible egg-shaped Ecocapsule, and announced that the tiny solar and wind-powered dwelling will be available for sale later this year, with units shipping in spring 2016. From the website: "Despite its small form each Ecocapsule is fitted with all essentials necessary for a comfortable prolonged stay without a need to recharge or re-supply. Ecocapsule is powered by a built-in wind turbine complemented with an array of solar cells. Dual power system and a high-capacity battery ensures that you will have enough power during periods of reduced solar or wind activity. Spherical shape is optimized for the collection of rainwater and dew and the built-in water filters allow you to utilize any water source.

Comments

Stupid shape is stupid

[DrXym]

The oval shape of this thing wastes so much volume that could have been used for storage, shelves, cupboards etc. And the gull wing door is just begging to be ripped off its hinges or even risk tipping the house over in strong wind.

I'm sure it wouldn't look so showy if the "world's first ecocapsule" (which is totally not a caravan without wheels) had a more conventional shape but it would have been a lot more practical, and doubtless cheaper to build too.

Re:Why no wheels?

[U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M]

I don't know, but given its shape I'm assuming it will come in a carton of 12.

Eco-friendly and economical shipping containers

[sjbe]

Not so much, once you cut holes in a shipping container it's very hard to move it.

Not unless those holes are so large they affect structural integrity. It is almost trivial to put some windows or extra doors into a shipping container without affecting structural integrity. The entire thing is made of steel so you can weld whatever reinforcements you need permanently or temporarily and steel is pretty much 100% recyclable.

If you plan to move your shipping container home, you'll also need to budget for a trailer to move it on.

This pretty much falls into the "duh" category. You don't have to own said trailer however.

About the cheapest I've seen a container trailer is five grand, and I didn't go look at it so I don't know what kind of condition it was in.

Or you can just hire one for a relatively modest fee unless you plan to move it around constantly. One of the beautiful things about using standardized containers is that there is enormous existing infrastructure for hire to move them about. You can put them on a truck, a train, or a boat easily and economically take them almost anywhere you want. You can even have them lifted by helicopter or crane with no modifications or special equipment.

If you're going to have a home built into it, you're talking about some real weight there.

Real things have real weight. Unlike this stupid pod however it would actually be functional for something more than glamping.

All this wandering isn't all that eco, it takes energy to drag a house around.

Sure it does but if you are wandering there presumably is a reason you are doing it. A standardized container is FAR more economical and eco-friendly than this stupid egg pod thing.

Re:Just convert a shipping container

[Penguinisto]

Agreed.

I had done something similar with a 30' camping trailer years ago. It began as a rescue project - I paid $1 (literally) for the thing and dragged it home. After stripping it to the shell, I rebuilt it from the inside out - extra-thick insulation, salvaged RV appliances and cabinets, solar panels on the roof, a pair of Group 4D 12v batteries (the size used on fire trucks), a 150 gallon water tank (to replace the puny 25-gallon one), two massive (80#) propane tanks up front, a *real* queen-sized bed, extra weatherproofing and a new coat of paint, etc. Even kept a computer + LCD monitor in it, which consumed less power than a tube TV.

By the time I was done, that $1 investment cost me an additional $3.5k or so, but it was already road-worthy, and it allowed me to spend a literal month in it to bracket two hunting seasons (in Utah - first Elk, then Mule Deer) without having to replenish supplies from in-town. The windmill would have been nice, but I already had the panels, a generator and plenty of gasoline stored in the truck bed...

I barely used the generator or the propane until it began snowing, though... Speaking of which, I wonder how this little egg thingy would do at 10k' ASL in a snowstorm, with the temperatures well below freezing... seems like it would be pretty cramped and cold considering no visible heating source.

To your point, though: when I was ready to go home, I just stowed the stabilizing jacks, hooked it up to the truck, and drove off. No muss, no fuss.