The Future of Power Generation

A new piece of research has highlighted how British homeowners think that their properties will be powered in the future, and the results show some stark differences from how we currently receive our energy.

The survey, which was compiled for Gocompare Energy, revealed that we are likely to have very different ways of generating power for our homes, such as wind turbines in gardens or on balconies installed by steel fabricators and water turbines in our bathroom drains and gutter pipes.

More Sustainable Power

With our current reliance on fossil fuels for our energy supply, it is important that we start considering alternatives if we are to continue meeting our energy demands, which are increasing every year. Some of the other ideas that we could see in the future are tiles with built-in solar technology for our roofs or the use of exercise equipment to power electronic devices, as well as more elaborate plans such as harvesting energy from floorboards as we walk on them.

The large majority of those who took part in the survey (91%) believe that we will see changes in how homes are powered, with 84% of these saying we will need more sustainable methods and 61% of the opinion that our homes will be more independent and self-sufficient in the future.

There were even 9% of respondents who think that our homes will not need any mains energy supply and that everything we require will be self-generated.

Changes to Appliances

As well as developing new ways for our homes to generate power, the research also found that 8% of people think the type of appliances and gadgets that we have today consume a substantial amount of energy and that they could be banned from sale in the future. This could include washing machines and kettles, with some making the prediction that this could be as early as 2020.

It's important for us all to consider the amount of energy that we as individuals consume, but it is unlikely that we will completely do without these types of appliances. Instead, the more practical option is for manufacturers to look at more energy-efficient solutions that meet our needs in a more sustainable manner.

It's interesting to see how homeowners believe that energy generation will change, and many of the predictions that have been made are not that far-fetched and could soon become a reality in homes up and down the country.