Other / additional utilities

In the industrialized / western world, homes have water / sewer and electricity supplied almost as a "given". Many have natural gas as well. But how about the possibility of some other utility, either for heat or as a source of motive power?

In a few major US cities (Philadelphia is one), the power company has (or had) steam piped to buildings in the heart of the downtown retail/financial districts. So I suppose steam is one possibility for heating: at significant pressures, it could be reduced locally, roughly analogously to natural gas pressure reduction, to low pressure steam for space heating. The economy of scale of generation of large amounts of steam might have made this feasible.

One that occurred to me but I don't know of any instances outside of industrial plants/shops that generate their own: compressed air. That could be a motive source for almost anything (and with quick-connect couplings and flexible hoses, that includes appliances like vacuum cleaners) that could operate on an air motor. The one drawback: air motors are noisy.

So: what else could possibly be piped into homes today, and what effects might those have on the quality of life?
 
Water/Gas/Electricity is what I would think of as utilities.

I suppose on the topic of gas, could you have a personal petrol (Gasoline to Americans) pump in your garage, in a timeline where it was much more plentiful/synthetically generated?
 
Water/Gas/Electricity is what I would think of as utilities.

I suppose on the topic of gas, could you have a personal petrol (Gasoline to Americans) pump in your garage, in a timeline where it was much more plentiful/synthetically generated?

In some rural areas, or on some very large estates, there actually are personal petrol pumps. The petrol is, however, usually delivered by truck, as opposed to being pumped in as a "utility."

Something to consider is what might be considered a utility in future; perhaps internet connectivity via a fiber network could become an expected utility? We seem perhaps already to be moving in that direction, as internet usage becomes more widespread and internet access becomes increasingly the norm.
 
In most areas of the US, utilities are sewer, water, electricity, and phone. Other possibilities are gas, steam (for heating, in certain urban areas), cable (again, in urban areas), or Internet (in some urban areas).

In the near future, assuming our society doesn't collapse, I would expect to see utilities encompass water, sewer, power (electricity, gas, and/or liquid fuel), and communication (high-speed Internet, delivering TV/phone/web access in one package). There might be other services provided to niche markets, such as steam, or compressed air; but those would be rare.

In a more dystopian future I could see oxygen and distilled water becoming utilities, in the event of severe environmental pollution.

I could even see something like coffee, tea, or beer being a utility, if the demand is high enough ... :rolleyes:
 
In a few major US cities (Philadelphia is one), the power company has (or had) steam piped to buildings in the heart of the downtown retail/financial districts. So I suppose steam is one possibility for heating: at significant pressures, it could be reduced locally, roughly analogously to natural gas pressure reduction, to low pressure steam for space heating. The economy of scale of generation of large amounts of steam might have made this feasible.

I'm not positive, but I believe there are some eastern European countries where this is the norm. It helps to have a denser population, though.
 
I'm not positive, but I believe there are some eastern European countries where this is the norm. It helps to have a denser population, though.

In Scandinavian countries combined heat and electricity production is rather norm than exception. In some locations such as Helsinki center the same concept is used for air conditioning by using cold from seawater. (Yes, in Finland there is also need for air conditioning during some summer months. Anything over +23 C is too damn hot for me at least, except in Sauna ;) ).
 
When I was a child, I came up with the idea of having underground pneumatic tubes connecting everyone in the city, which could be used for mail and packages. You could send an order to the grocery store, and they would send your goods back to you later that day.

Actually, that brings up another idea: In a highly socialist economy, you could see a local government distribution center which sends trucks out once a week to deliver your allotted food and supply rations.

Heck, in yet another dystopic setting, you might have "Nutritional Liquid" piped into your house. ("Honey, did you pay the Soylent Green bill?")
 
Pneumatic tubes in cities and suburban for for mail and packages mail in rural areas would likely still by letter carriers because of the cost of building a rural systems.

I can see cities having a steam pipe system like New York City does. You most likely would not see steam pipe system outside of commercial, government, and maybe large apartments building. You may a save cost with out the need a boil for each building.
 
Top