Smart House of the Future Features
Netafim USA's Drip/Micro Irrigation Products
to Maximize Landscape Beauty,
While Using Less Water
Project Overview
Since 1998, Sunset Magazine has created at least one Idea House
each year to showcase the latest trends in home building, interior
decor, and landscape design. This year Sunset, in a collaborative
effort with Popular Science, created the House of Innovation to
reveal just how technology and comfort may fuse to create a
smart home.
Envision a home designed to take care of our most basic needs -
alerting us to wake-up, reminding us to lock the door, advising us
when to take our medicine and automatically adjusting climate
controls based upon our individual preferences. As technology
becomes more essential to everyday life, it will also become a
more integral and intuitive component to our homes.
Built into an Alamo hillside overlooking Mount Diablo and San
Ramon Valley in Northern California, this 6,500-square-foot,
two-story home features five bedrooms, a theater, a library that
opens into a dining area, an exercise room, a kids loft, an office,
a three-car garage, a tech loft filled with prototypes not on the
market and a lush, thoughtful landscape.
Interior designers chose elements to create comfort, ease
maintenance, save energy and be stunningly beautiful. The
landscape designer had the same goals in creating the lush
landscape.
The Issues Being Faced
The sloping site of the House of Innovation has an unrivaled
sense of place. The towering form of Mt. Diablo and the
tawny-colored hills punctuated by live oaks have the postcard
look of Northern California.
Designed by NUVIS Landscape Architecture and Planning of Costa
Mesa, the plan divides the site into different zones and
destinations. Some areas are meant for people, while others
create a backdrop that responds to the challenges and unique
weather patterns of this very western site. The plantings are not
only good looking, but also water-conserving.
The Netafim Solution
The single expanse of lawn is a No Mow Fescue. This fine
textured grass with a distinctive look and feel is popular in
areas that are difficult to mow or with restrictions on water
use. To maximize on water conservation, but not
compromise on plant health, growth and beauty, NUVIS
installed Netafim USA's Techline® CV dripperline, using
0.6 GPH flow rate drippers spaced 12" apart and buried
6" deep beneath the ground's surface.
Techline CV subsurface irrigation was chosen primarily
because it conserves water. "With subsurface irrigation, we
expect to use 50 percent less water when compared to
pop-up sprinklers, because water seeps into the root zone
and isn't wasted through evaporation, wind or overspray,"
said Leslie Temple, Vice President of NUVIS. She added,
"As an added bonus, when watering with Techline CV,
landscapes can be irrigated during periods of drought and
stay within the state water conservation guidelines."
NUVIS also selected Techline CV dripperline because it is
pressure compensating. That means each dripper supplies
the same amount of water evenly across the sloping
terrain, allowing for uniform coverage and a lush yet
water-saving lawn.
One of the most visible destinations is the terraced vineyard
planted on the slopes behind the home. The site where the
grapes are grown is the steepest part of the site. To
uniformly irrigate the grapes and reduce its demand for
water, NUVIS installed Netafim's Pressure Compensating
On-Line Drippers using 0.5 GPH flow rate. Constructed of
polyethylene, the irrigation tubing with punched on
drippers was hung on the wire trellis. These pressure
compensating drippers slowly emit specified amounts of
water and nutrients, at a low pressure, equally to every vine
regardless of its location on the hill.
Orientation to the sun at different times of the day was a
factor in creating some outdoor living areas. Early morning
sun strikes the east facing side of the house - here the
designers have placed a terrace and vegetable garden. For
efficient use of water, the vegetable garden is irrigated with
Netafim's flow-regulated SuperNet Micro Sprinklers.
Pathways notched into the hill encourage exploring the
upper property. At the top of the hill, you can discover a
270-degree view that sweeps from Mt. Diablo to the east,
south down a long valley - and west to the low mountain
range over which the fog winds spill. From this vantage
point you can also see how this thoughtful landscape plan
not only settles the house into its site but makes it feel a
part of the natural design of the region. Yet for all its
forward-thinking concepts, the house inconspicuously
blends into a neighborhood filled with custom homes.
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