If installed correctly it's laid on a 75mm compacted road rubble base w/ 20mm screeded quarry sand bedding & grouted w/ foundry sand & black rubber pellet granules all heat absorbing products. As shown below has a 50% heat difference above air temp.
Don't get me wrong, I make a good quid installing the stuff but as a back yard play area it's hot, has no give & in a large area, to me, unattractive no matter how good the manufacturer & quality.
Good product for small front lawns, verges, or really shady spots (under trees for pools etc).
Have installed artificial turf in child care centres & all either have replaced with turf or don't let the kids play on it above 30c.
I usually show the page below to clients who are considering the product.
http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/ ... _sheet.htmHeat Stress
Synthetic turf fields absorb heat, resulting in surface temperatures that are much higher than the temperatures of the surrounding air. In June 2002 at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah, the average surface temperature on a synthetic turf field was reported to be 117°F while the average surface temperatures on natural turf and asphalt were 78°F and 110°F, respectively. A maximum surface temperature of 200°F on the BYU synthetic turf field was reported. A turfgrass specialist at the University of Missouri reported measuring an air temperature of 138°F at "head-level" height on the university's synthetic turf field on a sunny 98°F day. The surface temperature of the field was reported to be 178°F. A study conducted at Penn State University measured surface temperatures on experimental plots of nine different types of infilled turf. Temperature measurements were made on three occasions. The average air temperatures reported were 79°, 78°, and 85°F. The corresponding average surface temperatures reported for the synthetic turf plots are 120°, 130° and 146°F.
Water can be applied to synthetic turf to reduce the surface temperatures on warm days. A study at BYU found that watering synthetic turf lowered the surface temperature from 174°F to 85°F, but the temperature rose to 120°F in five minutes and to 164°F in twenty minutes. A study conducted by Penn State University on experimental synthetic turf plots examined the effect of watering synthetic turf on surface temperature. Measurements were made on three occasions. For one monitoring period, surface temperatures ranging from about 130° to 160°F were lowered initially to about 75°F, but increased within 30 minutes to temperatures ranging from about 90° to 120°F, where they remained fairly stable for the three-hour monitoring period.
The surface temperatures reported on synthetic turf fields can get high enough to reach levels of discomfort and may contribute to heat stress among users of the fields. While watering synthetic turf may reduce surface temperatures, other factors are likely to influence its effectiveness. At the present time, NYSDOH is unaware of any studies that have examined the role of synthetic turf in contributing to heat stress or that have compared the occurrence of heat stress among athletes playing on natural turf and synthetic turf.
Because of the potential for high temperatures on infilled synthetic turf fields, it is important that people who play or work on the fields be provided with adequate warnings regarding the potential for heat stress. People should also be advised to remain hydrated and to seek relief from the heat in shaded areas. The potential for and frequency of high surface temperatures warrant consideration when making decisions about installing and using a synthetic turf field.
Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 9:28 am
Why not?