While it is undeniable that plastic reflects heat, and, as such, can contribute to higher ambient temperatures, being a plastic and an engineered product also allows for this behaviour to be altered. Tufters, infill suppliers and shock pad producers have all developed components that individually or collectively can help control or even lower the ambient temperature.
Different materials and different colours all react differently to heat. Run-of-the-mill plastic reflects heat. However, carefully selected components can allow for better control of this impact, says Tushar Bhandari of Standard Turf. “Adding heat reflective pigments to the masterbatch can help reduce the temperature on a synthetic turf surface by 10 to 15 degrees Celsius,” he points out. To the UAE-based producer of synthetic turf yarn and carpets, this has become the norm. Most of the clients for their synthetic turf carpets hail from the Middle East, North Africa and India Sub-continent. “Another thing that matters is UV stabilisers that are added to this masterbatch. The higher the concentration and type, the longer the yarns will perform and last, according to what they have been designed for.”
As verifying the incorporated level of UV stabilisers is almost impossible, unscrupulous yarn manufacturers that aim to sell low-cost products tend to turn to reducing the inhibited volume of UV- stabilisers first. UV stabilisers are a costly component. “If that is the case, it will only be a matter of time before the client pays the price. Once the yarn starts to disintegrate under the influence of exposure to UV from the sun, the stabilising sand or backing becomes visible. Where plastic reflects heat, sand and the black backing absorb heat, thereby negatively contributing to the temperatures experienced on the surface, as they will release the heat over a much longer period of time, even when the ambient temperatures have dropped.”
“Adding heat reflective pigments to the masterbatch can help reduce the temperature on a synthetic turf surface by 10 to 15 degrees Celsius”