Architect & Designer
Landscape Architect/Designer-Consultant FAQ
- Translating the dream
- Welcome to Netafim USA
- What is low volume irrigation?
- Is this a new technology?
- What makes Netafim USA products so good?
- What types of low volume products are there?
- Why should I design with Netafim USA products?
- Where can I use Netafim USA on my projects?
- Does drip irrigation really save water?
- Is it easy to choose the correct product to use?
- What other products does Netafim USA sell?
- Where are Netafim USA products sold?
- Technical CAD and Spec Design Support
Translating the Dream
The creative talent of a Landscape Architect is in direct proportion to the tools at his or her fingers.
Without the proper tools, all of the mind’s creativity cannot overcome many of the shortcomings of overhead (fixed spray, rotary and impact sprinklers) irrigation.
Among them:
- Curved planting areas
- Bleaching or staining of hardscapes
- Spray on windows
- Plants growing over sprinklers and restricting throw
- Plants not tolerant to continuously wetted leaves
- Odd shaped areas
- Long narrow planting areas
- Areas where exposed sprinklers are unsightly
- Liability issues created by sprinklers that don’t retract, that have slippery surfaces close to walkways, or are above grade
- At grade windows
- Steep slopes
- Water window issues
- Windy areas
- Interiorscape plantings
- Different water requirements in the same zone
- Areas where water restrictions are common during dry spells
Where any of the above conditions apply, products from Netafim USA can provide effective solutions, thus freeing you to create a landscape that doesn’t have to fit the boundaries of fixed sprays and rotors.
Welcome To Netafim USA
Thank you for visiting the Netafim USA Landscape Division web page.
Netafim USA is home to the most innovative low volume irrigation products in the world.
Netafim opened the first commercial drip factory in the world over 45 years ago in Israel.
Today, Netafim is among the 3 largest irrigation companies in the world, with plants and offices in every major country.
While Netafim USA’s key focus has been the development of low volume irrigation products for the agricultural market, you are visiting the web page of the Landscape Division of Netafim USA.
We in the Landscape market are devoted to taking those same fine products used agriculturally and applying them to residential, commercial and municipal landscape beautification.
As a professional architect or designer, we believe that adding Netafim USA products to your designs will allow you to more efficiently irrigate the landscape, use less water and grow healthier plants.
What Is Low Volume Irrigation?
Low volume, drip, or dripline irrigation is the application of water directly next to the plant, either with the water being applied on the surface near the plant, or in the ground, being delivered directly to the root zone.
Is This A New Technology?
No! When Netafim opened its first factory in the mid-1960’s, there were already a number of people who had been working on this technology for over 25 years. But Netafim created the commercial viability for drip and low volume irrigation products by developing and mass manufacturing products for sale. This spawned an industry that today is recognized as the most efficient way to water, and the way that the vast bulk of farmers irrigate around the world.
What Makes Netafim USA Drip Irrigation Products So Good?
One of the major reasons our products outperform other Landscape irrigation products is because Netafim USA products got their start as Agricultural products. The performance standards in Agriculture are far more demanding than in the Landscape market. (The difference between a dry spot on someone’s lawn, and a farmer losing an entire crop).
Netafim USA products offer a wide variety of advantages to the professional designer, including:
- Very easy to design with
- Ability to design more creatively
- Saving from 30% – 70% of the water normally used with overhead sprays, oscillators or rotors
- Healthier plants, often growing to maturity as much as 50% faster, and doing so with less disease
- Local water use regulations that provide an exemption for water conserving products
What Types Of Low Volume Products Are There?
Netafim USA offers two primary styles of product – drip and dripline.
Drip – Drip emitters, sometimes called point source products are well known by many architects and designers.
A dripper is inserted into a pipe that feeds through a garden area, and is designed to provide water to a specific point. Hence the name “point source”.
In our site you will see a variety of point source emitters. There are two families of them, Pressure Compensating Point Source Emitters and Non-Pressure Compensating Point Source Emitters.
Dripline – Dripline is tubing that has emitters already installed in the tubing. This form of low volume irrigation is very popular because it wets the entire garden or turf area, whereas Point Source emitters only irrigate specific spots. In fact, the concept of both overhead watering a dripline irrigation is to create an even wetted pattern throughout the area being irrigated. the problem is that the vagaries of overhead watering preclude that from happening. Dripline products such as Techline® CV and Techline® are the most frequently designed-with products for landscape applications.
Why Should I Design With Netafim USA Products?
There are several reasons. Among them:
- While drip and dripline irrigation has been used around the world for over 45 years, it has only been in the last 10 years that products such as Techline have made low volume irrigation in landscape and turf applications easy.
- Clients sensitive to water use are requesting low volume irrigation for their projects, often aware of articles heralding the benefits of saving water and growing healthier plants.
- Making Netafim USA products a standard part of your product portfolio will help separate you from other designers and architects in your area that aren’t “up to speed”. This is especially true when you use Techline CV or Techline. Both products are pressure-compensating and continuous self-flushing dripline. That means every emitter emits the same amount of water regardless of pressure and debris do not stay lodged in the emitter but rather is flushed immediately. With Techline CV, you get a product that has a check valve built-in to every emitter, saving even more water and helping you mange water on slopes and other uneven surfaces.
- With the competitive nature of the business, being able to offer quality products from Netafim USA helps set you apart.
- For years Netafim USA Techline has been called, “The Irrigation Problems Solver” because many of the problems you face cannot be easily solved with fixed spray and rotors.
- Our products work! That may seem to be an odd comment, but the callback rate on our products is incredibly small. On top of that, vandalism and damage caused to sprinklers by lawnmowers and other heavy equipment disappear.
Where Can I Use It On My Projects?
The easy answer is anywhere. Netafim USA products, especially Techline CV and Techline, can be used in:
- Shrub and groundcover areas
- Flowerbeds
- Athletic fields
- Turfgrass
- Interiorscapes
- Curved, narrow or angular planting areas.
- High traffic/high liability areas
- Areas subject to vandalism
- High wind areas
- Areas where plant growth blocks or will block water
- Slopes
- Hardscapes that could be bleached or stained such as house or building facades, wood fences or at-grade windows.
- Medians or curbs where car bumpers can block spray
- Low pressure or low volume
- Interiorscape plantings
- Watering window issues (The amount of time that the system can be irrigated)
- Areas where municipalities have watering bans during drought that allow low volume zones to be used without restriction.
Our products have passed the rigorous tests that their use in Agriculture demand, so you can rest assured that it will exceed your quality requirements.
Remember the slogan “The Irrigation Problem Solver” is not just words. As an irrigation system designer you often run into one or more of the application issues described above that overhead irrigation solutions can’t effectively answer. When you do, we’ll be here to help.
Does It Really Save Water?
You bet! In North America there are often 30% – 70% savings in water alone. Seems hard to believe doesn’t it? But think about it.
Sprinklers throw water everywhere. In the street, on the house or building, on the sidewalk, in a neighboring yard, on the fence, into the trees and bushes, and into the air. Hopefully some of it gets to the root zone where the plant needs it, but often not enough.
Because of wind, evaporation (humidity), run-off, out of adjustment issues, and when the irrigation system is operated, many “overhead” irrigation systems are only about 50% efficient during the day. (Read that another way.many overhead systems use twice as much water as they should to get the job done).
As a professional designer, you have a vested interest in not only creating a lush landscape for your client, but you also need to be aware of the amount of water your system uses to accomplish this. Saving your clients between 30% – 70% of the water an overhead system makes good sense!
Netafim has developed two brochures that explain the benefits of low volume irrigation to your clients. Click these links to download and read them: The Right Solution For Beautifying Your Yard and Irrigation Fact versus Fiction.
Is It Easy To Choose The Correct Product To Use?
Yes it is! Very easy in fact when you use Techline CV and Techline, our most popular dripline.
(For more information, please view Design Manuals and other materials in our Online Library)
With Techline, you simply answer two basic questions; are you irrigating shrubs and groundcover or turfgrass, and what type of soil do you have.
Armed with only that information, we can tell you:
- Exactly which model of dripline to use
- How far apart to install rows of dripline
- What the application rate is
- How many minutes to run the zone to apply 1/4″ of water
- How many GPM every 100′ uses
- How far a row of dripline can go
We can also tell you other things, such as roughly how many feet of Techline you will use in an area when you know how many square feet there are.
Please visit our Techline CV and Techline Calculator which will automatically run the calculations given the correct input and estimates how much dripline you will need plus determines all of the other major components such as filter, PRV, staples, flush valves, etc.
We know that many of you look through various irrigation catalogs and see a wide variety of products that may or may not work in the areas you are designing for. With Netafim USA, the questions are answered straightforward. The annoying guesswork is gone.
What Other Products Does Netafim USA Sell?
Netafim USA sells a variety of products, including:
- Emitters – Pressure Compensating Point Source Emitters, Non-Pressure-Compensating Point Source Emitters and all fittings
- Dripline – Techline CV, Techline
- Filters – Techfilter, Disc Filters, 1″ Screen Filters
- Pressure Regulators
- Line Flushing Valves
- Air/Vacuum Relief Valves
Where are Netafim USA Products Sold?
Netafim USA’s Landscape & Turf products are distributed only through landscape irrigation distributors. Click here to find the nearest Netafim Distributor.
Technical CAD and Spec Design Support
Netafim USA offers the following assistance to support your professional design services. (This information is available in our Online Library):
- CAD design details in .dwg or .dxf format
- Samples of written Bid and Performance Specifications