I still think it is a little low for 6 people, especially during the winter. The max output is typically achieved during a cool sunny day. If the temp starts climbing > 29 Celsius, expect the output to drop. The extent of the drop depends on the solar panels as well as the increase in temp. It would be good to figure out how many lights (and appliances) are used, time, length and the frequency of usage to get a rough feel for the daily usage first. Since any PV system is a significant investment especially for people going off grid, it would be prudent to factor in additional capacity for possible needs in the near future (You may find that perhaps additional storage and/ or additional panels are required. Typically the installer will size the inverter to closely match the output of the panels. Adding capacity later could well mean changing the inverter or the entire system (due to physical constraints on where the panels can be located, ...). It is also likely that the installer will dictate the brand of panels used. For example - RecSolar and SunPower have installers who specialize in the respective brands. Get a good installer - one who has done similar off grid systems, will walk you through the sizing and other technical details (such as - how would I expand the system and what would it cost). In my case, I had to choose between an installer who just wanted to put in a > 2kW system and be done vs another who was willing to size out the system, walk through the details and tolerate a deluge of questions and what-if scenarios.

Glass was also taxed on size in some areas (mostly in Europe) so the way to cheat the tax man was to use smaller pieces of glass which were less costly tax wise. (This was particularly true of mirrors which were heavily taxed). So it was both initial cost and cost later :) Just like us today LOL Windows were also made from the bottom of glass bottles in many places in the country. You see it on occasion in England and in original window's in cabins in the US (my grandfathers place had a couple). They were a poor man's glass window. I'd take a couple things into consideration in choosing. Style of house, and what you're blocking with the extra wood. In my home, I'd never want the smaller glass expanses because I am on a lake with fabulous views. I don't want tiny squares of lake...I want huge expanses of lake (some of my windows are 6'x8' picture). I'd never want to change that to fill a style desire :) But in some homes...the view is not a main feature, so I'd think about what looked best on the house, before I'd consider the view out of the windows.

Minnie, I hope you enjoy my blog. I've written almost 700 articles (blogs) on a plethora of subjects, from my dog's encounter with a rabid dog to running coax and installing an HF antenna. Nicole, My husband cooked the turkey 3.5 hours and it weighed 18 pounds. He checked for doneness using a meat thermometer. The breast meat hit 170 degrees and the dark meat hit 180 degrees. As to the old houses, I'm getting a little tired of that topic. For 12 years, it was my world. Now I'm having fun delving into Ham Radio and all its ancillary features. I recently joined not one but TWO local ham radio clubs and I thoroughly enjoy it. The groups are full of folks who are incredibly intelligent and super fun. I'm the village idiot in both groups, but that's okay. I'm learning so much and they're all so patient with me. :)

Other robin, why do you think it is so easy? OP wants a house, not a shed with a bath. Fitting a coat closet, master bedroom and bathroom (with a good layout) into a 14'x20' space with strict requirements on the door and window placement took my designer, architect and I months with dozens of attempts. We had to use tricks like wall mount faucets to make it work. If we had more space, it would have been way easier. I can't imagine trying to design a functional house with a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, HVAC, electrical, etc that is only 200 square feet. I assume that there are lots of space saving tricks that clever architects could come up with. It sounds way way harder than designing a mansion (not that any house design is easy as this forum has shown).