• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.435-444
• /
• 2011

The development of ubiquitous healthcare technology and portable electronic devices requires new energy sources for providing continuous power supply. This study particularly focuses on an energy harvesting system capable of charging energy using clothing. One of the sources for energy harvesting is heat energy, which is the difference in temperature of the body and the surrounding environment. In this study, the skin temperature distribution of the human body was empirically measured to determine the basic materials needed to develop heat energy harvesting clothing. The distribution of skin temperature in different sections of the human body was analyzed. The analysis found that the skin temperature of the upper body was higher than that of the lower body. The area close to the heart with a lot of blood flow was especially high. The skin temperature of the back side of the body, such as the back of the neck, upper back, and waist, was higher than that of the front side of the body. As for the arms, the skin temperature of the upper arms was higher than that of the lower arms, and the skin temperature of the back side of the arms was lower than that of the front and the flank side of the arms. The difference in the average skin temperature and the environment temperature was highest at the back of the neck, and thereby is considered to be the most appropriate section to integrate the heat energy harvesting function and structure. The following sections had the next highest difference in values, listed in descending order: the back of the waist, the sides of shoulders, the front chest area, the front side of the upper arms, and the front abdomen. Based on the skin temperatures of the different sections of the human body, this study outlines the basic guidelines for developing heat energy harvesting clothing.