HEATED EARTHEN
Localized thermal environments have been shown to not only reduce operational emissions from the built environment, but also provide thermal alliesthesia, also known as thermally pleasurable experiences. In parallel, natural earth- and bio-based materials can offer healthy and accessible materials in immediate environments. This work developes a wearable earth-based substance that can be heated, culminating in a wearable artifact that can provide localized heat. The developed result, titles “Heated Earthen Wearable Skins” aims to create a secondary skin layer for a radically pleasurable and healthy environment. By wearing Heated Earth, we become carriers of this symbiotic relationship within earth bioms, nurturing our sacred connections to the natural world.
The carbon tape's resistance was used to design the circuit and power supply. Well-insulated carbon tape, 44 mm width, reaches 61.60°C at current ~1.86A. As the material will reduce the heat transfer by 50%, we need ~2.7A for about 40 degrees Celsius.
We aimed to make a 12-volt project because you could power it with a conventional power supply. To get that current at 12 volts, you need a carbon tape with resistance: 12V / ~2.7A = ~4.4 Ohm. The resistance of 44mm width carbon tape is ~10 Ohm/m. So the final length of the tape needed is 4.4 Oh/m ÷ 10 Oh/m = ~0.44 m, which is pretty short to cover the entire body, so we need 2 separate circuits combined. Our source of power is a Lithium-ion power bank 12V 33Wh, while one strip of carbon tape draws 32.4Wh. That means this size of power bank can warm the jacket for about an hour.
After the first round of pouring material into cast wax paper, we wait for an hour for the material to settle and then place the carbon tape system, and then pour another layer of bio material.
The final process is to leave it for at least two days in a well-ventilated room. Flip it gently before removing the casting paper from the fabric. We sew the seam together with the material itself, melted with a hot gun tip. So the material was melted and acts like a bio glue.
We aimed to make a 12-volt project because you could power it with a conventional power supply. To get that current at 12 volts, you need a carbon tape with resistance: 12V / ~2.7A = ~4.4 Ohm. The resistance of 44mm width carbon tape is ~10 Ohm/m. So the final length of the tape needed is 4.4 Oh/m ÷ 10 Oh/m = ~0.44 m, which is pretty short to cover the entire body, so we need 2 separate circuits combined. Our source of power is a Lithium-ion power bank 12V 33Wh, while one strip of carbon tape draws 32.4Wh. That means this size of power bank can warm the jacket for about an hour.
After the first round of pouring material into cast wax paper, we wait for an hour for the material to settle and then place the carbon tape system, and then pour another layer of bio material.
The final process is to leave it for at least two days in a well-ventilated room. Flip it gently before removing the casting paper from the fabric. We sew the seam together with the material itself, melted with a hot gun tip. So the material was melted and acts like a bio glue.