(Phys.org)—By wearing clothes that have been dip-coated in a silver nanowire (AgNW) solution that is highly radiation-insulating, a person may stay so warm in the winter that they can greatly reduce or even eliminate their need for heating their home. Considering that 47% of global energy is spent on indoor heating, and 42% of that specifically for residential heating, such highly insulating clothing could potentially have huge cost savings.
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As the researchers explain, most strategies to reduce indoor heating focus on improving the insulation of the buildings, such as by using high R-value insulation and low-emissivity windows. However, a large portion of the energy is still wasted on heating empty space and inanimate objects.
To avoid this waste, the researchers have used a new strategy called "personal thermal management," which focuses on heating people. They've demonstrated that clothing dipped in a solution of metallic nanowires, such as AgNWs, achieves this goal by both providing passive insulation and allowing for active heating when connected to an external power source.
The main advantage of the AgNW-coated clothing is that it reflects over 90% of an individual's body heat (i.e., infrared radiation) back to the individual. This reflectance is much higher than even the warmest wool sweater, as the average clothing material reflects back only about 20% of body heat.
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Besides providing high levels of passive insulation, AgNW-coated clothing can also provide Joule heating if connected to an electricity source, such as a battery. The researchers demonstrated that as little as 0.9 V can safely raise clothing temperature to 38 °C, which is 1 °C higher than the human body temperature of 37 °C.
http://phys.org/news/2015-01-super-insu ... ndoor.html