A 143-year-old historical lesson that shows why we shouldn't dismiss 'electric wallpaper' home heating

Putting up wallpaper or replacing the central heating? In the future, the two tasks may be one and the same (Picture: George Marks/Retrofile) | Getty Images

We take electric street lights for granted today, but when it was first introduced, they went back to gas within a year

Godalming has a considerable claim to fame. In 1881, the Surrey town became the first place in the world to get electric street lighting. The local newspaper reported the effect was “most satisfactory, eliciting the high praise of the hundreds of persons who have nightly congregated in the streets, including a good contingent from Guildford”.

However, by the following year, amid complaints about the light and cost, the town had switched back to gas. Today, we take electric lighting for granted, but then it may have seemed like a wacky technology that would never take off.

The idea of ‘electric wallpaper’ – currently being tested as an alternative to central heating in Glasgow – may seem similarly wacky, but who’s to say this isn’t the future of home heating? Apparently, it leads to ‘less’ mould and doesn’t dry out the air as much as central heating.

As a new Electric Age dawns, prepare to be dazzled by a whole array of weird and wonderful devices, a few of which will become household staples, while the rest diminish until all that’s left is their inventors’ dreams of what might have been.

A 143-year-old historical lesson that shows why we shouldn't dismiss 'electric wallpaper' home heating

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