Thermoregulatory Clothing System for Building Energy Saving PI: - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Thermoregulatory Clothing System for Building Energy Saving

PI: Jintu Fan (Cornell FSAD); Co-PI: Huiju Park (Cornell FSAD); Co-PI: Tasha Lewis (Cornell FSAD) Co-PI: Edwin Kan (Cornell ECE); Co-PI: Ronggui Yang (U Colorado ME) Duration of the Award : 04/27/2015 to 04/26/2018

Description of Technology

• Breathable undershirt embedded with

microtubes.

• Supplying of next-to-skin moving air

for thermoregulation.

• Sensing of skin temperature and

wireless communication using fabric antenna

• Intelligent control of microclimate.
• Efficient and compact thermoelectric

energy conversion unit. An air-conditioning garment system consisting of an undergarment fitted with detachable micro-tubes and an electro-mechanical heating/cooling device (EMD), providing next-to-skin cooling/warm air for thermoregulation.

Value Proposition and Uniqueness

• Improved personal comfort, particularly in extreme conditions.
• HVAC energy saving for indoor occupants.
• Effective cooling/heating function (up to 27 watts cooling and 18

watts heating) with COP>1.

• Portable personal air-conditioning.
• Machine washable of the undergarment after detaching the micro-

tubes and the electro-mechanical heating/cooling device (EMD).

• Little effect on choice of outer wear and appearance.
• Affordable (~$10 for undergarment, ~$200 for the EMD unit which

can be used for 3 to 5 years).

Key Challenges and Achievements

• Pressure drop in the micro-tubes.
• Seamless integration with the clothing system.

Key Challenges and Achievements

• Pressure drop in the micro-tubes.
• Seamless integration with the clothing system.

• Compactness and efficiency of thermoelectric energy

conversion unit.

• Accuracy in next-to-skin sensing and optimization in wireless

communication & control.

Key Challenges and Achievements

Weight: 430 g Dimension: 14cm×8cm×4cm

passive sensor tag on undergarment RFID reader

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 0.00 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

1

st TECU prototype

Modified TECU-1 Modified TECU-2

Cooling Power (W) Current (A)

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Modified version TECU 1

Heating Power (W) Current (A)

Market Discovery & Penetration

Elderly care: ~$300B

Police First respondants Infantry Air force Equine

Potential Collaboration with DELTA Community

• Thermal manikin testing
• Wireless passive tag sensing and

communication technology

• Apparel design and manufacturing
• Market discovery and commercialization