A breakthrough cooling device developed at UCLA drops temperatures by 16 degrees Fahrenheit without traditional air conditioning, reported Tech Xplore.
This compact device, made of six thin polymer films, could soon power wearable tech that keeps you comfortable in hot weather while saving money on cooling costs.
The prototype can lower temperatures up to 25 degrees Fahrenheit at the heat source in just 30 seconds. Traditional AC units rely on energy-hungry vapor compression and use carbon dioxide coolants. This new technology runs only on electricity, which can come from solar panels or other clean energy sources.
"Our long-term goal is to develop this technology for wearable cooling accessories that are comfortable, affordable, reliable and energy-efficient—especially for people who work in very hot environments over long hours," said principal investigator Qibing Pei, a professor of materials science and engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, per Tech Xplore.
"As average temperatures continue to rise with climate change, coping with heat is becoming a critical health issue. We need a variety of solutions to the problem and this could be the basis for one."
The device works through a simple but intelligent design. Each layer is coated with carbon nanotubes. When electricity flows, the layers squeeze together in pairs. When it stops, they spring apart to press against neighboring layers. This accordion-like motion pumps heat away continuously.
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"The polymer films use a circuit to shuttle charges between pairs of stacked layers, which makes the flexible cooling device more efficient than air conditioners," said Hanxiang Wu, one of the study's co-lead authors and a postdoctoral scholar working in Pei's lab.
The technology could transform how we stay cool.
"Because we can use thin flexible films, electrocaloric cooling would be most ideal for next-generation wearables that can keep us cool under strenuous conditions," Pei said. "It could also be used to cool electronics with flexible components."
The team has filed a patent application, bringing this innovation closer to consumer use. "The potential of efficient wearable cooling in driving energy savings and mitigating climate change cannot be overstated," said Sumanjeet Kaur, a materials staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and its Thermal Energy Group leader.
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