Tiny Homes By IKEA Help Fight Climate Change

IKEA has launched a new line of tiny houses or trailers that are packed with the company's airy design and minimalistic functionality.

The company has decided to move eco-friendly tiny houses from the novelty to the mainstream, aiming mostly at the large base of customers who are already in love with the brand. 

NBC News reports that IKEA’s tiny homes emit zero pollution, carbon including. They are solar-powered and totally electric, and only emissions come from towing the home into place.

“There’s also an environmental benefit in the materials the houses use. Most mobile homes are reliant on wood and metal framing — concrete is too heavy for mobile structures. Ikea’s focus on reusable components means that manufactured home companies, even those with larger building footprints, will be tugged to steadily increase the share of their raw materials that can be repurposed whenever the original structure they’ve built is retired.”

These tiny homes are pre-manufactured, which means they produce much less waste than buildings constructed on-site.

The use of solar panels to generate power and replacing propane heating with a heat pump run by those solar panels is likely to become a standard for many manufactured homes.

Total electrification is essential for mobile homes since propane poses a serious fire hazard in mobile home parks.

IKEA’s eco-friendly tiny home is sure to set an example for other manufacturers who may copy or even upgrade the solutions given by the Swedish furniture and homeware powerhouse.