Textiles for heat generation

To achieve maximum comfort and performance in cold temperatures, especially in close to zero and subzero temperatures, various textile materials with heat generation properties are developed. The major reasons behind these developments are the availability of smaller, and more durable batteries, wash-durable conductive textile materials, smaller and flexible electronics, and solar cells as well as good insulating materials to retain heat. This chapter discusses different types of textiles with heat generation properties. This includes various electrically heated textiles using conductive yarns and Peltier systems, textiles with an attachment of solar cells, PCM-containing textiles, and self-heating textile materials that absorb thermal photons from sunlight. This chapter also includes the development of insulative textile materials for retaining heat and completes with a discussion on the different heat-generating garments developed from these textile materials.