The house in our map would need to be as close to being passive as possible, reducing the need for heating in the winter and cooling in the summer as much as possible, yet it is substantially large for just one person, and there is a reason for that. Let’s start a bit in detail from the bottom up.

Preferably, the cellar would need to be accessible from both outside and inside the house and consist of at least three rooms. One would be the boiler room, with a high-efficiency, modern wood stove, central heating with hot water storage of at least 2000 l, and enough storage space for fuel for two weeks in case of extremely bad weather. That way, the stove could run at peak efficiency just a few hours every other day, saving both fuel and labor. Then there would need to be a separate, cold, dark cellar for storing all the canned goods, and another, even colder cellar, for storing potatoes and other veggies.

Above ground, the living space would be situated at the north wall, preventing overheating in hot summer. And the south wall room would be the last growing space contributing to food production, a solar greenhouse. Not a tropical greenhouse, but one that does not freeze over due to a combination of utilizing most of winter’s weak sun and residual heat from the living quarters. Such a greenhouse would be ideal for starting sensitive crops with long vegetation cycles (butternut squash, lufa, cucumbers, peppers, etc.), as well as a choice of useful, non-frost-resistant spices and herbs (chilli, rosemary, basil, bay leaf, etc.). And lastly, in a sufficiently large greenhouse of this type, even in my climate, it would be possible to grow a few small, but really important trees and bushes – tea or coffee, and a few citrus trees. It would not be possible to produce enough coffee or tea for a serious addict, but it could be enough for an occasional treat. A large-ish lemon tree could provide an important canning ingredient – citric acid.

The attic would serve two purposes – it would need to be higher than the greenhouse to provide a chimney effect during an extremely hot summer, allowing the hot air to escape the house and draw in cooler air through the cellars. And it would be a storage space for all the seldom-used junk, as is the usual case.

Did I forget something?