As you walk around the house, you can feel that the temperature is just right. There is a boiler that not only heats or cools the air but cleans it. Every hour, air is sucked into the boiler from all over the house. The air passes through a filter which removes all the dust and dirt. From here it goes into a humidifier which either takes water out of the air or puts it back in. This keeps the air neither too damp nor too dry. Finally the air is heated and blown back into the house. So, without anyone lifting a finger, the house is warm and clean.

In the year 2010 everyone wears a jumpsuit and shoes. The clothes may look odd, but they are sensible. The jumpsuits and shoes are made in thousands of colors, from a material so light you can hardly feel it. The material keeps you warm when it is cold and cool when it is hot.

Notes: “In the year 2010 everyone wears a jumpsuit and shoes,” I love that line. I would hope that somewhere in England today, Geoffrey Hoyle is sitting enjoying a sherry in a comfortable chair, wearing a jumpsuit and wondering why nobody else realizes just how sensible an item of clothing it truly is. Don’t stop believing, Geoffrey.

Additionally, having just had the original furnace in our 1930s-era home replaced, I can say that what he describes is almost exactly what our brand-new furnace does. It’s a modern miracle: able to clean air, measure humidity, and keep the house consistently comfortable (even today, on a day that the outdoor temperature hasn’t gotten above 15 degrees F). I would imagine that in England in the 70s the idea of a furnace like this would seem like something out of science fiction. Yet here, today, it comes with a tax credit attached.