ABSTRACT
Climate change brings about significant consequences that humanity is experiencing, such as increased natural disasters due to extreme weather conditions. These disasters become more frequent, with mounting evidence indicating the responsibility of human-induced global warming. More than half of the energy consumed globally is used for heating and cooling of largely empty buildings, both residential and commercial. Therefore, more localized heating and cooling efforts are essential. Most recently, the use of photonic smart textiles to enhance thermal comfort and decrease energy costs has attracted significant attention. In this chapter we propose two photonic fabric designs: (1) A Dynamic Transmittance Switch Textile (DTST) that controls the infrared (IR) transmission by adapting to the ambient temperature and humidity. The DTST is constituted from metal-coated monofilaments and stimuli-responsive polymer actuator beads, in this way benefiting from multiple IR photonic effects to strongly control the wide-band transmission of thermal radiation and to provide for a sharp, dynamic response. (2) A Janus-yarn fabric, which is a double-sided thermoregulating textile designed using an asymmetric yarn composition, leading to dual-emissivity characteristics. The fabric provides both passive cooling and heating functions, achieved by wearing the textile inside out. The very strong emissivity contrast is achieved by utilizing both metallic and dielectric fibers within the yarn.
