HEAT YOURSELF, NOT THE WHOLE ROOM

Energy efficiency is the best way to cut fuel use, fuel expense, and carbon waste and VTT, Finland’s high-tech skunkworks, has found a new way to apply that principle.
Researchers there have developed thin, flexible, plastic-free heat sheets.
The sheets, thinner than a piece of printer paper, can be dropped on a couch seat, on a floor to heat your feet, on a car seat, or attached to a wall to radiate heat exactly when and where it’s needed, in the same way that a pair of heated gloves or socks focuses heat right where you want it, not everywhere on your body.
The sheets’ heating elements can be plugged into regular wall sockets or draw power from rechargeable batteries that can be attached.
The skinny pads are printed on rolls, can be cut to any size, and can be bent, rolled, or folded to fit almost anywhere. They need no other backing or support layer.
The pads also can be heated to 130°C, or about 266°F, so they can sterilize surfaces.  
The Hot Delivery Co., a Grubhub-style food delivery operation, is testing the heat sheets in its bags that keep meals hot in transit.
Future iterations of the sheets will be able to recognize individuals and automatically turn on and set heat to the level the person prefers, the developers said.
TRENDPOST: Turning down thermostats one degree can save about 5 percent in heating costs.
Localizing heat anywhere—in your car, on the floor at your workbench, or on the seat of your favorite chair—could be key to reducing energy waste, boosting efficiency, and saving money while cutting the world’s demand for oil and gas.
VTT’s innovation is likely to debut in the commercial market by 2026.

VTT’s precision heat sheets.

Credit: VTT