My wife and I do a lot of traveling by road trip to bring our pup along. And because of that, we keep toying with the idea of buying a van. Recently while talking to a friend with a van they made the point that we should nix a Mercedes Sprinter from our list completely. His point? That we not only live somewhere remote – but often travel to remote places. And how many small towns in America have a Mercedes dealership (vs. Ford)? The same sort of logic can be applied when choosing appliances for your cabin.

A tangent I hope illustrates the overarching theme here. When you consider what appliances or HVAC system(s) – a trump card should be how easily you can source and service it. If you’re building and living in a rural area there’s a very good chance that your closest appliance repair center will only service brands like Whirlpool. To our credo – we’re looking for simple, durable, and resilient.

Cabin Appliances

In addition to narrowing your search of appliances to brands available and serviceable locally – there are a few other considerations.

• Appliances, besides your HVAC system, will likely be the largest consumer of energy in your home. Buy the highest efficiency models you can afford (i.e. induction cooktop, ENERGY STAR rated).
• Consider an all-electric home to avoid the need for fossil fuels. All electric means backup power is simplified.
• Consider heat pump hot water heaters which are two to three times more efficient than the most efficient electric hot water heaters.
• Consider heat pump clothes dryers that don’t need to be vented and thus help with a better building envelope and don’t depressurize the house when running.
• Appliances are awkward and expensive to move. Consider local dealers, big box stores, and online dealers to see if you can get free delivery and/or setup. This can easily be a few hundred dollars of savings that will warrant you to stick to one supplier. Just make sure you stick to an authorized dealer.
• Your kitchen design and casework should be guided by your appliance selection – not the other way around.
• Consider extended warranties if for no other reason than to ensure you’ll be able to get service! A service company may simply say “no” to trekking into your neck of the woods without the extended warranty contract.
• If you’re on a well, consider installing a filtration system to get a longer life out of things like a washing machine and dishwasher.