A GearJunkie contributor built an experimental eco-retreat on 6 forested acres, connected to IMBA’s silver-level mountain biking ride center at Cuyuna Lakes, Minnesota.
The sun arcs low in the sky above the 46th parallel during the winter months in northern Minnesota. But through the south-facing windows of a just-completed cabin, celestial angles align for maximum solar warmth.
Built over a 14-month timeframe, and with innovative and upcycled materials, GearJunkie contributor and real estate developer Tom Puzak wrapped up the construction of the cabin last month.
The Wattage Cottage has one-foot-thick walls, a massive solar array, and 5,000 pounds of batteries to store energy and power the home.
It’s off the grid. But the cabin has a modern kitchen, in-floor heat, a gas fireplace, an espresso machine, and most every amenity of modern life.
The home has no connection to the outside world — unless you count its cellular Wi-Fi service, which Puzak uses to monitor and control all aspects of the home.
Off-Grid ‘Eco’-Cabin
Its walls have no lumber. Instead, Wattage Cottage uses graphite-infused Styrofoam about a foot thick for structure. These SIPs (structural insulated panels) are manufactured offsite and sent stacked flat on a semi-truck, ready to be glued into place.
Fifteen large solar panels power the cabin. They feed dozens of upcycled batteries, purchased from a hospital that no longer needed them as emergency backup.
The cabin has a 5-foot overhang designed to shade half of the south-facing windows during summer. But in winter, the overhang still permits warming sunlight, as it passes at a much flatter angle due to the cabin’s location above the 46th parallel.
Perched on hilly, forested land, access to fresh water required a well drilled more than 500 feet into bedrock below the home.
Remote but High-Tech Off-Grid Home
Cuyuna Lakes: Mountain Biker’s Paradise
