Researchers
from the University of California at San Diego are developing a smart fabric
capable of helping the wearer maintain a comfortable body temperature. The aim:
reducing the need for building-level air conditioning.
According
to the U.S. Department of Energy, five percent of all the electricity produced
in the United States is used by air conditioners. This isn't just reflected in
billions of dollars, but also in hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide
released into the air each year. The U.S. isn't alone. In India for example,
the total power consumption for air-conditioning is projected to climb by an
order of magnitude over the coming decade.
Although
developing more power-efficient air conditioners and building greener homes and
offices can help cut energy costs and reduce pollution, finding ways to live
and work without air conditioners might prove to have an even larger impact in
the long run.
To
achieve this ambitious goal, the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research
Projects Agency (ARPA-E) has been financing several initiatives including one
called ATTACH (Adaptive Textiles Technology with Active Cooling and Heating).
The
goal of this three-year project, led by UC San Diego nanoengineering professor Joseph
Wang, is to create personal, wearable heating and cooling technology for office
occupants in order to reduce the energy consumption of a building's HVAC
(heating, ventilating and air conditioning) system. Unlike other advanced
fabric technologies, which are designed to work outdoors (in either very cold
climates or a very warm ones), ATTACH is designed for indoor use at
temperatures ranging from 19 °C to 26 °C. Garments using the technology can
help reduce and in some cases even eliminate the need for HVAC.