Technologies are generally described herein for electrocaloric effect heat transfer devices, methods, and systems that may be effective to efficiently transfer and distribute thermal energy from a heat source utilizing coordinated application of out of phase electric signals to adjacent heat transfer stacks coupled with a thermal distribution layer. Some electrocaloric effect heat transfer stacks may include alternating layers of electrocaloric effect material and thermal rectifier material. The out of phase electric signals produce electric fields that bias the electrocaloric effect material of one heat transfer stack to a hot phase, emitting thermal energy, while biasing the electrocaloric effect material of an adjacent heat transfer stack to a cold phase, absorbing thermal energy. The thermal distribution layer allows for thermal energy from the material in the hot phase to be distributed to the material of the adjacent stack in the cold phase rather than back to the heat source.