Personal cooling vests are products that are especially designed to help both workers and athletes stay cool when the weather heats up. These types of clothing lower body temperature and allow construction workers and runners function in hot climates or environments. In addition to workers on construction sites and paving crews, they help everyone from athletes to people suffering from illnesses and diseases including multiple sclerosis keep their body cooler, even when the heat begins.
â” Question 1: Are there different types of personal cooling vests?
Yes. There are a number of different types of personal cooling vests that are designed for specific purposes. They come in a variety of weights and sizes and some personal cooling vests are lightweight to allow more movement for athletes while industrial sized personal cooling vests are often found in mining and smelting operations. They range in weight from two to eight and there are five main types of personal cooling vests, with several sub-types to meet certain needs.
â” Question 2: How do personal cooling vests work?
The first type of personal cooling vests is called an evaporative personal cooling vest. It works by being submersed in water from three to five minutes. Then it is wrung out lightly or blot dried. It is outside the clothing and as the water in the personal cooling vest interacts with specially treated cooling crystals or other cooling agents and the water evaporates, a person’s body temperature goes down.
Ice chilled personal cooling vests utilize ice to bring temperatures down. They use cooling energy packs that are activated in a freezer and then placed in pockets inside of the device. Phase change personal cooling vests use energy packs that are placed inside a refrigerator or freezer and then put in the pockets of the vest. These packs contain liquids that solidify like wax between 14 and 18 degrees. They are good for short-term cooling because they only last between one and a half and three hours.
â” Question 3: What kind of personal cooling vests are used in construction?
There are a couple of types of personal cooling vests that are very effective for workers in construction and industries. They can provide consistent and continuous cooling to minimize heat stress and increase worker productivity in hot environments.
The personal cooling vests they favour in construction like road work must allow them to have a full range of motion to do their work. In high heat environments like a welding shop, they often wear their personal cooling vests under welding leathers or protective clothing. In construction work, they might wear personal cooling vests during the hot summer months when performing work like laying foundations or paving work. In addition to construction and paving work, personal cooling vests are also effective for many other workers. That includes people working in everything from foundries to power plants, and asbestos and hazardous waste removal.
â” Question 4: What kind of personal cooling vests do athletes use?
Marathon runners and many other athletes often use lightweight athletic cooling vests that are first frozen and then worn against the skin. They are designed to allow the athlete to effectively run or participate in a game like soccer or football even when the temperatures are soaring outside. Other athletes use a cool water flow cooling vest that pumps water through the vest using hoses. There is also a thermoelectric cooling vest that works on peltier effect by cooling down the inner surface of the personal cooling vest. It is a bit awkward for runners however because it is a bit heavier than other personal cooling vests and is powered by a portable battery.
â” Question 5: What about people who suffer from heat-sensitive illnesses?
Personal cooling vests are also very effective for people who suffer from multiple sclerosis. They are in constant pain and discomfort because their nerve fibers become demyelinated. The pain increases when the temperature is elevated. Personal cooling vests can keep their body temperature down. That reduces the symptoms and the pain. In 2015 there was a study at the University of Buffalo that found that personal cooling vests were an effective tool for many people who suffer from multiple sclerosis.