200 ELECTR C YEARS
Discover how Britain’s history of innovation
paves the way to a brighter future
EVER wondered what the house of the future might look like?
A panel of futurologists, academics and energy experts have revealed their vision of the house of the future, where life is easier for you while being better for the planet.
Chaired by former Tomorrow’s World presenter Maggie Philbin, the team of boffins reckon that by 2070, our homes could deal with lots of the daily drudge for us.
And with smart automated systems, we could also look forward to extra-efficient energy use and a lower carbon footprint.
“Some of the ideas and inventions I saw on Tomorrow’s World painted a very different picture of the future, sometimes one you’d only dream of,” says Maggie. “But seeing what could be in store for British homes is truly exciting – and some of it’s happening all around us already.”
From biometric door locks and battery-powered houses to robotic gardeners and health-monitoring toilets, every room is getting a hi-tech glow-up. So let’s step inside the house of the future and find out how the times are a-changin’ – for the better.
INNOVATIONS THAT COULD
TRANSFORM OUR LIVING SPACES
HOME IMPROVEMENT
You don’t have to wait until 2070 to take your first step into the future – you can request a smart meter right now.
The amazing space-age gadgets in the house of the future are a little way off yet, but one piece of energy-aware tech has already arrived.
Smart meters represent the next generation of digital gas and electricity meters. They provide automatic readings and near-real time information on energy usage for households.
As Maggie Philbin says: “Getting a smart meter for your home is a simple thing that will help you make the most of tech advancements, especially when it comes to how we use, and pay for, energy.”
Smart meters make it easy to see where you might make small changes that can reduce your energy consumption and also lower your energy emissions. This can help lead to lower energy bills and a smaller carbon footprint so you can help tomorrow’s world today.
As Maggie says about having one installed: “Do it for yourself, do it for your family, and do it for your country!”
Get a smart meter*
WEY FORWARD
Britain launches the first public electricity supply in Godalming, Surrey, allowing people to light their homes with electricity generated by a tannery’s water wheel on the River Wey. A few years later in Brixton, South London, the first market street to be lit by electricity becomes known as Electric Avenue.
TAKE THE SMART STEP TODAY
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1881
BLYTH SPIRIT
1887
Engineer James Blyth designs and builds a wind turbine in the garden of his holiday cottage in Marykirk, making it the first house in the world to be lit by wind-generated electricity.
WELL CONNECTED
1926
The Central Electricity Board is established to link Britain’s power stations and provide standardised AC power through a “national gridiron”. In 1935, the National Grid is born.
SMASHING ATOMS
1956
Calder Hall – later known as Sellafield – becomes the world’s first nuclear power station to export electricity on a commercial scale to a public grid. At its peak in 1997, nuclear power generates 26 per cent of Britain’s electricity.
PLUGGED IN
1960
We have electricity in abundance with new gadgets and appliances commonplace in our homes.
DARK DAYS
1974
Following miners’ strikes, the government introduces the three-day week, limiting all but the most essential businesses to just three days of power. It’s another reminder of how fragile our energy system can be, and of the need to diversify sources of power.
WINDS OF CHANGE
1991
Delabole becomes the site of the first commercial onshore wind farm in the UK, which is the windiest landmass in Europe. The field of turbines lies at the third highest point in Cornwall – ideal to catch the gusts.
CATCH THE SUN
1995
Britain’s first solar-cell roof for a home is installed, on the six-bedroom Oxford Ecohouse. An estimated 1.3 million homes in the UK now have solar panels.
RECORD BREAKER
2020
Britain sees the greenest year on record for energy generation, going for an hour shy of 68 days straight without using coal to generate power. In lockdown-free 2022, we came very close to matching that record, which shows we are moving in the right direction.
SMART AND SMARTER:
A NEW MILESTONE
2024
OVER HALF of the energy meters in Britain are now smart meters, all installed at no extra cost to users.
Smart meters are the new generation of gas and electricity meters that measure energy use in near real time, sending automatic meter readings directly and securely to your energy supplier.
So no more estimated bills or having to bother with manual meter readings.
But they have loads more potential. We will increasingly be using electricity rather than gas or oil to heat our homes, so how can we make sure we have enough of it while relying on renewable sources for power generation? Part of the answer is
smart meters.
The wind doesn’t always blow and the sun doesn’t always shine, so supply from green sources is sometimes plentiful, sometimes less so.
Balancing out these highs and lows calls for a smarter energy system that measures demand in real time and also helps manage the supply of energy to homes across Britain – the sort of information, in other words, that comes from smart meters.
This could help us reduce the nation’s carbon emissions and become more flexible in the ways we use energy. Smart meters are the latest milestone in the country’s long energy journey. And are a key part of our green energy future.
CHARGING AHEAD
2030
By law, 80 per cent of new cars and 70 per cent of new vans sold in the UK must be zero emissions by 2030, rising to 100 per cent by 2035. Bidirectional charging running through smart meters could soon enable families to charge their cars when energy costs are lowest and use the car battery to power their homes at peak times.
ZERO HOUR
2050
The UK has pledged to become a net zero country by this year and smart meters could play a key role. By now, they could be helping to reduce peak energy consumption, linking with dishwashers or washing machines to run at off-peak times with variable tariffs to save you money.
NEW HORIZONS
2070
Sun and wind power, better battery storage and smart meter optimisation should combine to make electricity cheaper and greener in future.
