Development of a tiny house design tool to increase safety, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness

Abstract

The popularity of tiny houses is increasing, but the technical details are rarely covered. Therefore, this study examines the structural, stability, weight, and thermal requirements of tiny houses. A configurable SolidWorks model was created, and the location and quantity of structural supports were determined by performing structural finite element analyses (FEA). The center of mass, tip angles, overall weight, and tongue weight were computed to ensure stability while stationary or during transit. The heating and cooling needs for the tiny houses were calculated using thermal FEA for twelve cities of varying climates across the United States.The result was a Scilab design tool that takes as input, items such as location, desired size, utility needs, etc. It calculates the materials needed for the structure and the projected cost. This design tool, along with the provided construction drawings, allows the user to build a safer, efficient, and cost-effective tiny house.