Climate adaptive optical design of radiative cooling textiles for enhanced outdoor thermal comfort

As a feasible solution for thermal management in outdoor environments, radiative cooling textiles (RCTs) have been demonstrated to have outstanding improvements in thermal comfort. Considering the time mispatch with cooling demand during different seasons in various climate zones, the present study proposed an optimization method for the optical design of personal wearable radiative cooling clothing. The heat transfer processes among human skin, clothing, and the environment were analyzed, and a clothed human model was established for thermal comfort prediction. The improvement in thermal comfort achieved by wearing RCT was then evaluated by comparing the performance of cotton textile with that of RCT, and the impact of meteorological conditions on the thermal comfort of individuals wearing RCT was discussed in detail. To increase the long-term thermal comfort of wearing RCTs from the cooling season to the transition season, an optimization method is proposed to determine the optical properties of RCTs according to regional climatic characteristics. Finally, the thermal comfort performance of the optimized RCT across different climate zones in China is systematically analyzed. The results showed that individuals wearing optimized RCTs can remain within the thermal comfort zone for more than 88% of the time during the hottest month across different climatic zones in China.