Student builds own energy-efficient home

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Aug. 13 (UPI) -- A future Yale University grad student is preparing for her move to New Haven, Conn., by constructing her own portable energy-efficient house in Byfield, Mass.

Elizabeth Turnbull, who works as a sustainability coordinator with a building company, said she decided to build her own home after calculating that it would cost her about $14,000 to live for two years in New Haven while attending Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, The Hartford Courant reported Wednesday.

The "Tiny House," as she has dubbed it, measures 8 feet by 18 feet and includes a sleeping loft, a storage loft, a study area, a kitchen area, a living area and a bathroom complete with a toilet and a 3 feet by 3.5 feet shower.

Turnbull said she plans to power the Tiny House's lights as well as her laptop and cell phone with three solar panels that total 18 square feet of surface.

She estimated the total cost of the house, much of which was built with donated materials, at about $11,000.

Gordon Geballe, associate dean for student and alumni affairs at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, said the school will be proud to host the Tiny House.

"We're ecstatic that one of our students is pushing the envelope here," Geballe said.