People often think of climate control as a comfort in their day to day life. There certainly is some truth to the idea that we turn on the heat or AC to stay comfortable. However, it’s the ubiquity of climate control which allows us to see it in that light. Because in the end climate control isn’t just about comfort. It’s also about staying healthy and safe, no matter what the conditions outside might be. One simply needs to look at the statistics for heatstroke in an area to see how serious climate control really is.
It’s easy to just say that we should stay inside or outside during certain parts of the year. Some people can’t do so. Others simply don’t want to live their life under the orders of the daily weather forecast. Most people assume that whether we like it or not, that’s just life. But modern technology does offer us considerable options for personal climate control. This revolution began with personal heating options. Simply wiring low current electric coils through clothing was easy enough. But we’re finally at a point where one can keep cool on hot days as well. However, it’s a newer technology and one has a few choices to consider before deciding on which will work best.
Unlike personal heating products there’s really no industry standard for personal cooling yet. Different choices have different advantages and disadvantages. In the end the best way to choose between them it to carefully consider which will best fit one’s own situation.
Cooling headbands
These cooling devices are fairly simple in their basic concept. Most people have experienced a day that’s so hot they just hold a bag of frozen vegetables against their forehead to cool down. Cooling headbands are somewhat similar in some ways. The headband itself usually isn’t too high tech. Instead it’s something closer to a standard headband. The main difference is that they have a thin, but strong, mesh along the inside. This mesh allows one to insert gel based cooling strips. The gel is obviously a step above using a bag of frozen vegetables. But it’s the same general concept.
The gel cooling pads are kept in the freezer. When needed, one simply takes a few out and fits it through the headband’s inner lining. There are some advantages and disadvantages to this type of system. The biggest advantage is simplicity. Even the most high tech part of it, the gel, is literally hands off. In that one will never directly interact with the gel. It’s always sealed in a plastic enclosure. However, there are some disadvantages as well.
The biggest issue comes from how long it’ll last. One can only really expect it to work for a few hours at room temperature. It stays cool longer than a standard item kept in the freezer. But not by any huge margin. One can also only stay cool with it long term by continually swapping out the cooling packs. This isn’t an issue at home. But it does become a problem if one is trying to use it outside.
The higher heat from being outdoors tends to further decrease the overall duration of the cooling pads. And when one is outdoors it also decreases the overall chance that one can simply grab a replacement from the freezer. Finally, there’s the issue of area of effect. These headbands, as one might expect from the name, keep the cooling centered on one’s head. The body’s circulation means that there’s a continual circulation of cooling through the body. But there’s only so much that can be done by cooling one single point while the rest of the body is subjected to heat. That said, it is one of the least costly options.
Variations on the headband
The standard cooling pad based headband is the most common version of a cooling band. But there are variations on this theme. Some have built in UV protection to further lower exposure to the heat. Others are able to just use cold water soak for the base cooling action. Some might be closer to full head protection. Others still might protect against hot winds.
Fan based neck cooling
Fan based neck cooling devices have a fair amount of variation in the overall form factor. But they usually work through something known as evaporative cooling. It’s common knowledge that water evaporates under heat. But what’s less well known is that cold water can be an effective tool for spreading a chill into the air.
Evaporative cooling works by pushing warm air through a cooling element. This is usually accomplished by using cold water. And in the case of neck coolers this will typically be accomplished by using a fan to push warm air through a sponge element soaked with nearly freezing water.
People often have a number of concerns over this type of cooling system. Power is usually a big concern. Both in terms of how much noise the fan might generate and how long a charge lasts. Charges typically last for at least as long as the internal cooling element remains viable. This will typically be around an hour and a half. It’s important to note that even when the cooling element is used up the fan will still offer some measure of relief as well.
Cooling vests or leggings
These are similar to the earlier mentioned headbands. These articles of clothing are meant to go under standard clothing as a layer. Though if it’s cold enough one could certainly wear them as clothing. The secret is that they too have space to place cooling gel packs.
These clothing options have the same general advantages and disadvantages as the headbands. But they have an additional issue with size. The larger size of the clothing means that the packs are larger as well. This, in turn, makes it even more difficult to swap out packs as they warm up.
Vortex style cooling
Vortex tube based personal cooling options are the current state of the art. They function in a similar way to home air conditioning. Earlier we touched on how effective personal heating has become thanks to clothing with heating elements within it. Vortex tube cooling works in a similar way. The main difference is that it uses a similar system of coolant cycling to one’s air conditioning systems at home.
The primary benefit is the effectiveness and duration of this style of cooling. There’s good reason why home cooling has switched from all of the previous methods and to modern standards. Basically, a circulated coolant based system is the most effective method to offset high temperatures. Unlike the other methods it’s essentially a continually regenerating system. Energy is directly converted to the coolant system. This is significantly different from even the other powered solutions which usually use electrical power to distribute rather than generate a lower temperature.
The only downside is cost. As the most advanced solution it’s also the most costly. But it’s far enough ahead of the other options to make it worth the investment for many people.
Final thoughts
In the end one should always remember that keeping cool in high temperatures isn’t just about comfort. It can keep someone from pushing themselves too hard in high temperatures. This isn’t about just dealing with discomfort. It’s about avoiding conditions as serious as heatstroke. Which option will work best for any given person is in larte part down to personal preference. But someone facing high temperatures owes it to themselves to consider their needs and how the various options will work with them. Aside from keeping yourself from the hot weather, you can make your kitchen more energy-efficient by installing cooling technology as well. This will keep it cooler, reduce the need for air conditioning and also save you money on utility bills!
