Yes, yurts do have electricity and it is good to have a proper electric connection so that you can enjoy all the plush of your home in the yurt.
There are many ways to get the proper supply of electricity to run all the power-based things in your yurt all year round.
In this blog post I will share all the possible ways to get the power the yurt regardless of whether you’re on the grid or off the grid.
And some of the ways that can light up your yurt to reduce the electricity usage to some extent.
It’s time to start the journey!
What is the best type of electrical wiring?
There are many brands that provide wiring for tiny houses. But as we need to go through the safest and trusted Romex is a brand that many yurt family recommend because it is non-mettalic and commonly used for electical wiring in homes.
Romex has one or more copper wires, a ground wire, and a neutral conductor. The entire bundle is covered in a plastic coating where copper wires are individually insulated.
When we talk about the safest wiring material copper is the thing that is safer than most of the other conducting metals because of its great heat resistant property and that is a yurt is needed the most because most of the structure in yurt if allowed can catch the fire quickly.
But the question is how to recognize whether the wiring is of real copper or fake?
The simplest way is to scratch the wire deeply using a sharp enough knife and if you notice that the color of the wire is different from the color that is in the outer surface then it is electroplated and hence fake.
How do you power a yurt?
Let’s dive into all the possible ways to charge up the yurt. These are the ways and not the steps so you can use one or all at the same time if you want.
Pay bill electricity connection
This is the best and easiest way to charge up your yurt when you’re on the grid. You know what you have to do for this and what formalities you need o go through to get a new connection for the yurt.
However, you need to make sure that your location falls under the local electricity department means they most likely say no if there are no homes or other tiny houses in your locality.
You can move on to other ways when there not at least few homes. You can ask the other homeowner (not necessarily yurt owner) whether they have a pay bill connection.
Solar panels
Using solar power is the best energy-efficient way where you don’t have to tense about paying bills.
The only problem these systems can counter is the location and the cost of installation.
If we go through estimations then a 1000 square feet home uses upto 380 kWh energy and to generate this amount of power you need 12 solar panels (estimation).
The above estimation is for a home and not for a yurt as the number can go down significantly depending upon how many appliances or electric work you need.
Either you can install the solar panels on the rounded dome of the yurt or you can buy portable solar panels and can set them up where the yurt shadow don’t touch them.
However, I like the idea of installing solar panels on the search side of the dome or at the very top of it.
Power from water
Generating power from flowing water is known as hydropower or hydroelectric power.
This method is only for those whose yurt is near any stream of flowing water.
You do not need to build a yurt near the beach or a river. Just about any continuous water stream can work for this purpose.
You need to install enough portable water turbines to generate enough electricity to power up all the appliances in your yurt.
Consider consulting an expert in micro water turbine set up before making any action.
Wind turbines
According to energy.gov, you need a 1.5-kilowatt wind turbine in a location where the wind is blowing with a 14 mile per hour on an annual average to meet the 330 kilowatt-hours per month requirement.
You need to invest approximately $8,000 and $12,000 to buy a 1.5 kilowatt.
Wind power is really a great way to generate electricity for permanent living in yurt although you need planning permissions before installing them even on your property.
Make the hybrid of wind and solar
Interestingly, you can combine the wind turbine and solar panels using a controller to get more power incase you need it.
If you wish to go this way to generate electricity in your yurt you should hire an expert in this field to make the hybrid without any fault which can irritate you in the future.
Ways to light up the yurt
Lamps and lanterns
During the process of installing outlets and electric circuits, you should make clear to the electrician about the number of bulbs you want to light up in the yurt.
Also, you should buy some good lamps and lanterns that can be recharged as a choice when the brownout or blackout happens in any case.
Mesh Windows
To save energy and bills make sure your yurt features enough windows and a must skylight on the crown of the yurt to get the maximum natural light at day.
Doing this will give you sufficient light so that you don’t have to use a single unit of electricity to light any bulb.
Windows are not only good for natural light but they vent the whole yurt for proper airflow to live a suffocation-free life.
Stove light
If your yurt has a wood stove then that stove itself can light up most of the area while heating yurt in winter.
This does not mean that you have to open the stove’s door because many stoves now come with side glasses that are safe from fire and allow the light of the fire to spread across the yurt.
Shiny objects and mirrors
When buying stuff for the yurts include some of the items that are shinny in nature. How to choose a good shinny object? No science, your eyes will tell you which is the best.
no need to for any particular shiny objects, just go with your normal list of utensils and other daily items and choose some of shinny ones.
Mirrors and shiny objects reflect the light coming from outside for any light bulbs to increase the volume of light inside any room.
Use right colors
Go for the white color interior or any color close to white because white color reflects most of the light and thus even in low artificial light or natural evening light you can easily find that you do not really need to light the bulbs till the outside really starts to go dark.
And in white paint, you don’t need to use as many bulbs to make the yurt visible enough to see the surrounding.
Conclusion
Do yurts have electricity? Yes, you can set up the systems which can generate enough electricity to power up all appliances in your yurt. However, if you want to go all-natural as the people live 1000 years ago, it is completely legal to do so.
If you want to know how to set up electric circuits and outlets in your yurt I’ve found a good article while surfing on the net by doityurtself.com. You can check out that article here if you’re interested in electrical work in a yurt.
Michael is heavily inclined towards traveling to natural places and documenting cultures/people from different parts of the world. He also loves hiking and camping and is spirited toward all outdoor activities. He will share his passion for outdoor life and brands or products we use outside our homes. He has good research skills, and that’s why you can see why his articles are packed with info that is factual and not readily available. He also has the vision to travel the whole world and share it with all readers of Outdoor Favor.
