Powered by solar panels, this tiny house is a mighty big deal

Peering through Vattenfall and Superuse’s tiny house aptly named Nestle, one can’t help but begin to imaginarily sketch and outline its seemingly most fitting surroundings. With its perfectly round door shaped like a porthole, the charming dwelling is somewhat reminiscent of the whimsical Hobbit Holes that J.R.R. Tolkien created for Bilbo Baggins and Frodo to come home to and legendary director Peter Jackson brought to life.

Although the allure of fantastical creatures and otherworldly scenarios is more often worth escaping to than not, the collaboration between Vattenfall and Superuse conveys a different, just as riveting yet reachable kind of magic.

Showcased during the 2024 edition of Dutch Design Week, Swedish renewable power company Vattenfall and Dutch architecture collective Superuse converted a discarded nacelle, the top part of a wind turbine, for the crafting of Nestle, a one-off prototype. The teams received the scrapped container from the Dutch company Business in Wind after it was obtained from the wind farm where the turbine was previously used.

The nacelle was part of the Vestas V80 wind turbine, the first model with a nacelle large enough for a tiny house, which generated green energy in Austria in the span of 19 years until 2023. Most of the parts that make up a wind turbine–its foundation, tower, gearbox parts, and generator–are made of metal or concrete which means they can easily be recycled. The concept was shaped and designed by Superuse and executed by Blade-Made, its spin-off company, in partnership with Woodwave.  

The miniature house is 3.5 meters wide, 10 meters long, and 3.6 meters high. Despite its size and how its exterior clearly indicates its origins, Nestle complies with building codes and is a fully livable home that can be used as a holiday accommodation as well. The tiny house comes with four solar panels positioned on its roof. They can generate up to 1,800 watts of power, which is more than enough for the compact home.

Each panel functions entirely on its own and has a micro-inverter for 230V alternating current which allows for the power to continue to flow even if one of the panels malfunctions. There is also a charging socket on the side for the recharging of electric or hybrid cars. Nestle is fully insulated and features triple-glazing glass large windows.

Nestle’s wood and earthy interior, which features around 387 square feet of space, includes a cozy kitchen, bathroom, and living grounds. The boiler (with 50 liters of hot water) is powered by solar panels and facilitates the use of the nooks allocated to showering and washing. Alongside the air conditioning for heating, the heat pump keeps the tiny space warm even if the temperature outside drops down to -15 degrees Celsius. The ventilation grid, part of the wooden wall, extracts used air from the inside and then blows back fresh air from the outside and comes with heat recovery technology.

An enchanting example of green living, Vatennfall, and Superuse’s Nestle demonstrates how discarded materials can be reused in innovative and creative ways with as little processing as possible–instead of remelted. In this way, raw materials are saved and energy consumption is significantly reduced. The experimental turbine-turned-tiny house sparks interest and inspires at a critical moment as Vattenfall estimates that some 5,000 wind turbines around the globe will reach the end of their life cycles this year and next. Now is the time to find better alternatives such as this one.