Thermoregulatory clothing with temperature-adaptive multimodal body heat regulation

Thermoregulatory clothing plays an indispensable role in maintaining body thermal comfort and achieving building energy savings in response to fluctuating ambient. Existing temperature-adaptive clothing without external energy input has very limited thermoregulatory power because of the lack of simultaneous regulation of multiple heat-dissipation pathways. Here, we report thermoregulatory clothing with temperature-adaptive multimodal body-heat regulation (viz. convection, radiation, and sweat evaporation), which can automatically adapt to temperature change (15 degrees C-35 degrees C) within seconds by incorporating mechanically and infrared optically tailored metalized polyethylene actuators into textiles. Based on thermal manikin tests and thermo-physiological modeling, it demonstrates that the designed clothing can expand comfort zone by more than 2 degrees C on both cold and hot sides, corresponding to about 30% building energy savings when used in indoor environment. The smart clothing can also significantly improve the comfort and performance of wearers when exposed to fluctuating or extreme environmental conditions.

Automated summary

The study introduces a thermoregulatory clothing with temperature-adaptive multimodal body-heat regulation, incorporating metalized polyethylene actuators and mechanically and infrared optically tailored techniques. It demonstrates the ability to automatically adapt to temperature changes and expand the comfort zone, leading to significant building energy savings and improved comfort and performance of wearers in extreme environmental conditions.