Subscribe now

IMAGINE watching your electricity meter run backwards as, instead of using power, you actually donate some to the grid. That’s the offer that will be held out to consumers over the next decade as millions of households get the chance to generate their own electricity using a new breed of domestic power generators.

Whether they are based on gas-powered boilers that heat the house too, or satellite-dish-sized wind turbines fixed to the roof, these appliances will make entering the power market as easy as buying a washing machine. At least, that’s the theory.

The prospect stems not so much from…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up

To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers

Popular articles

Trending New Scientist articles

Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop