As a landscape architect, you may find yourself weighing up the pros and cons of real vs artificial grass, in terms of aesthetic appeal, cost, and practicality. Whether creating a master plan, a private family estate, or designing a...
The Only Proven, “Real Life” Cooling Solution for Artificial Grass
Artificial grass is a great resource for landscape projects and professional sports, and is used in numerous stadiums around the world. In a domestic setting, it can also help increase a property’s value in terms of curbside appeal, while offering an all weather, consistent year-round surface for children’s play, exercise, and social events.
Synthetic Turf does have one serious drawback. Synthetic turf systems get very hot when exposed to sunlight.
We’ve organized this blog to investigate how implementing TºCool® Infill can improve your synthetic turf experience by keeping the turf cooler, cleaner, and safer. We’ll also expand on how to best approach artificial grass installation in terms of architectural design.
The Benefits of Artificial Grass for Landscape Architects
As a landscape architect, you may find yourself weighing up the pros and cons of real vs artificial grass, in terms of aesthetic appeal, cost, and practicality. Whether creating a master plan, a private family estate, or designing a playground, there are a multitude of important aspects to consider.
It’s important to remember that synthetic turfs have come a long way since their inception in the early 1960s. Through product improvements, turf has become increasingly suited to athletic, leisure, and recreational activity over the decades. In the realm of synthetic turf care and maintenance, advantages include:
No need for high volume watering requirements
A consistent appearance
Inflammable
Quick-drying
Available in a variety of colors and textures
No need for pesticides or herbicides
Durability and wear resistant
Added shock attenuation for sport and recreation
The Heat is On
However, while artificial grass is a highly versatile and widely used surface material, it’s not without its disadvantages.
To make the most of synthetic turf, you need to approach the architecture of the project properly. Without doing this, you risk spending more than you’re gaining back in both monetary and lifestyle value. One key issue is that synthetic grass has the potential to get hot, really hot.
The combination of traditional polymer grass and infill materials absorbs a lot of heat from the sun, without the natural transpiration and evaporation that maintains more stable temperatures in real grass. During the summer months, turfs have been known to reach temperatures as high as 140ºF to 160ºF+ degrees, resulting in an unsafe, uncomfortable, and plainly unusable surface.
The Sustained Evaporative Cooling Process with TºCool Infill
TºCool Cooling Infill applies the science of evaporative cooling, using water to draw out heat from artificial grass. The innovative, T°Cool sand coating is activated by moisture, from rain, humidity or irrigation which evaporates in warmer, sunnier weather at a rate that keeps the turf cool and safe.
Users will enjoy temperature reductions of between 35°F to 50°F. A mere fraction of the water used in the upkeep of real grass is used.
With the addition of T°Cool, the advantages of artificial grass expand to:
? True all-weather use
? Less watering than traditional grass (for the activation of evaporative cooling)
? Antimicrobial protection (using Bac Shield – A Biobased Antimicrobial)
Using T°Cool with synthetic turf is an excellent choice for all manner of architectural projects, offering clients various ways to get a good return on their investment.
How to Properly Implement Artificial Grass with T°Cool® Infill
If you’re installing synthetic turf for a client, there are a number of important steps to follow to ensure the job is done well.
Installing Artificial Grass
To begin, choose a specific style and material of synthetic turf that you feel will best complement the overall design scheme of the space and fit into its architectural specifications. There are many options to choose from, so take your time to consider the proper pile height, color blend, density, and weight. It’s best to have a clear and open dialogue with your client when making these sorts of decisions!
Next, prepare the site of the synthetic turf for optimal drainage using grading and contouring best practices.
Some of these best practices include:
Designing the turf for vertical draining, with water dripping down into the previous base and subgrade (these are made of crushed stone generally)
Not relying on sheet draining when setting up an infilled turf ( Golf
Following the ASTM recommendations for minimum rates of drainage
Testing the base and subgrade for water infiltration prior to installing the actual turf
Once this is done, it’s time to install the turf, including the T°Cool Infill. For every square foot of artificial grass, you’ll need to lay down a minimum of 2lbs of our infill.
Activating the infill is simple. Just a half inch of water on the surface will activate the evaporative cooling process. This can be any sort of water, whether applied through manmade irrigation systems, rainfall, or even humidity in the air.
It’s worth experimenting with how much water you apply and with what method, with different sites allowing for different irrigation systems. With a little trial and error, you’ll be able to pin down exactly what the watering requirements are.
Once you’ve crossed the Ts and dotted the Is, your client will experience between a 35°F to 50°F reduction in turf temperature, for years of extended use to come.
Choose TºCool
If you’re about to embark on a landscaping project of any scale, consider installing artificial grass supported by TºCool Infill, to give your client a base for activities all-year-round. Whether you’re helping someone to build the perfect hockey field, the dream children’s playground, or just a picturesque backyard, synthetic turf with TºCool could be the perfect choice for you.
For more information on TºCool and other synthetic turf resources, visit our website today!
