Thermoelectric Cooling Garment
E-Textile Wearables transformed an early-stage customer concept into a working cooling-garment prototype. The project covered technology selection, system design, e-textile integration, garment development and thermal testing, with careful attention to wearability and the physical requirements of the cooling hardware.
E-Textile Wearables
Development Period: 2024–2025
Client: Confidential
Application: Thermoelectric Cooling E-Textiles Jacket functional prototype
Confidentiality Note
The client’s specific end-use application, algorithms, data-processing methods, commercial strategy, and product-specific requirements are protected under a non-disclosure agreement and have not been disclosed on this page. This case study presents only E-Textile Wearables’ general technologies, development methods, proprietary platforms, and e-textile motion capture expertise.
Conceptual visualization based on the developed cooling-garment prototype. Selected design details have been modified to protect confidential customer information.
Project Background
The customer approached E-Textile Wearables with an early concept for wearable cooling technology in garment form. The objective was to determine how a Peltier cooling element, heat-dissipation hardware and textile components could be combined into a practical jacket prototype.
The project sits within the broader category of heat-regulating electronic textiles, where electronic systems are used to influence the wearer's thermal environment. Unlike a conventional electronic product, the cooling system had to work with a soft, flexible garment while maintaining the thickness and airflow required by the Peltier and fan assembly.
Our role was to develop the overall system, select suitable technologies and translate the concept into a wearable high-level prototype.
Early-stage tests to evaluate Peltier and fan positioning and basic system operation before development of the textile-covered removable module.
Development Scope
Stage 1 — Technology Selection and System Design
The first stage focused on selecting the cooling approach and defining the system architecture. A Peltier element and fan-based thermal-management assembly were selected for the prototype, together with an internal thermally conductive fabric area designed to distribute the cooling effect across a wider region of the jacket.
The electrical connection strategy also had to account for textile-compatible conductive pathways used to deliver power between the garment-integrated elements and the external system.
Stage 2 — Textile and Garment Integration
During garment stack integration, the larger thermally conductive textile area was placed inside the jacket so it would not be visible from the exterior. From the outside, only the compact fan assembly, its black textile cover and the four fasteners were visible.
The cooling module was enclosed using moulded black technical fabric, helping the unit visually relate to the garment without disguising the real thickness required by the Peltier, heat sink and fan. The design also considered reliable interconnections between the garment-side elements and the removable cooling hardware. This was one of the practical product-development considerations involved in deciding when a wearable product should become an e-textile.
Stage 3 — Removable Module and Prototype Testing
The external cooling unit was attached magnetically rather than stitched or permanently bonded to the jacket. This created a small, realistic stand-off between the garment and the module while allowing the unit to remain separate and removable. The approach applied the same design principles used for magnetic connectors in detachable wearable-electronics assemblies.
The system was developed around a prototype power and controller module, allowing the integrated cooling assembly to be operated and evaluated as a complete wearable system. Thermal-camera testing was then used to observe the temperature response across the jacket and assess how the internal textile region distributed the cooling effect.
Infrared thermal-camera testing of the garment-level prototype. The larger visible area corresponds to the internal thermally conductive textile layer, which remains concealed during normal use.
Key Engineering Challenges
Generating a Noticeable Cooling Sensation
The central engineering challenge was the amount of heat that had to be removed from the wearer's skin to create a clearly noticeable cooling sensation. Achieving that level of heat transfer with a single Peltier unit was difficult, particularly within the power, size and weight limitations of a wearable system.
Distributing Cooling Beyond the Peltier Contact Area
A second challenge was preventing the cooling effect from remaining concentrated only at the small area directly beneath the Peltier unit. The thermal arrangement had to control how the cooling propagated into the surrounding region, using the thermally conductive fabric to spread the effect across a larger area while retaining sufficient cooling at the central contact point.
Optimizing Peltier and Fan Size for Wearable Weight
The combined weight of the Peltier unit, heat sink and fan also limited the available hardware choices. Larger components could potentially increase cooling or heat dissipation, but would add unacceptable bulk and weight to the garment. The Peltier and fan sizes therefore had to be selected as an optimized balance between cooling capacity, airflow, module weight and wearer comfort.
Project Completion and Handover
The project was completed and the high-level cooling-garment prototype was handed over to the customer. The agreed scope was to demonstrate the concept and develop a functional high-level prototype; it was not intended to deliver a final market-ready or sellable product.
As part of prototype evaluation, infrared thermal imaging was used to observe the garment-level response. A separate close-up thermal test was conducted to observe the temperature response directly beneath the removable cooling attachment.
Close-up infrared thermal-camera testing demonstrating the localized cooling effect produced by the removable thermoelectric cooling module.
Developing a Cooling or Thermoregulation Wearable?
E-Textile Wearables can support your project from technology selection and proof-of-concept development through garment integration and high-level prototyping.
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