When you wake up in the morning in the middle of winter in Canada after a restful night’s sleep and see multiple inches of snow in your driveway area, it can dampen your mood. It is evident that spending time shoveling the snow is not fun, especially when you know that it will happen again eventually in a few days. This is a problem that many people face in Canada. However, we have a perfect solution for you. Using heated driveways or portable driveway snow melting mats is the solution. But what is their difference? Which one should you buy and use? Which is more cost-effective? Don’t worry. We have all the answers for you.
What are Built-In Driveway Heating Systems?
Installing built-in heating driveway systems beneath the surface of your facility (similar to radiant-in-floor heating) is one of the best ways to create safe driveways during winter for your house.
These snow and ice melting systems are a grid of heating elements or thin tubes that carry a mixture of antifreeze and warm water. These elements are buried under your driveway’s asphalt or concrete to raise enough temperature to melt the snow or ice on your driveway.
There are two main types of built-in driveway heating systems that are available in the market which are:
- Electric Heating Driveway
- Hydronic Driveway Heating Systems
Depending on your needs, a professional plumbing company and contractor in Canada will help you decide the suitable system for your driveway.
Electric Driveway Heating
Electric driveway heating systems are the simplest in the market. Installers loosely weave insulated wires into flexible mats and connect them to the household current with a buried conduit.
Professionals can arrange the mats to align with your car’s tires or cover your home’s driveway completely. This modern driveway heating systems feature a range of system-control options. You can use a classic thermostat to turn on when there is snow to a wi-fi-connected phone or device that automatically modulates your driveway’s temperature according to its weather conditions.
Hydronic Driveway Heating System
A hydronic or water driveway heating system is made from loops of plastic tubes that are called PEX. These tubes carry a mix of propylene glycol or antifreeze liquid and water.
The hydronic heating system is heated by the residential boiler that is placed in the garage or basement. The warm mix is pumped through your residential plumbing system.
Unlike the electric heating system that utilizes one source of energy and power, hydronic boilers are versatile and can be electric, oil, solar, gas, or even wood-fired. The versatility of the water driveway heating system allows homeowners to have various options for cost savings.
What is Similar Between Hydronic and Electric Driveway Heating?
The only similarity between electric and hydronic systems is that they range from automatic to manual control options.
Advantages of Built-in Heating Driveway Systems
- Eliminates snow and ice
- No more shoveling during winter
- Saves time and energy
- Cost-effective solutions
Challenges
- Installation cost is a bit high
- In some cases, installing a new driveway will be required
- Repairing heated driveway systems can be costly
What is Portable Driveway Snow Melting Mats?
Portable driveway snow melting mats are the cheaper alternative to built-in heating systems. These mobile systems are similar to the mats that are used for porches, walkways, and entryways. But they are built to be strong enough to hold the weight of your car.
Unlike the last system that heats the entire driveway, portable ones are installed in parallel lines to melt ice and snow along the tire path.
The heating elements in portable driveway snow melting mats are sandwiched between rubber material. You can plug a portable snow melting system into a standard outlet.
Portable driveway snow melting mats are one of the suitable alternatives for a home or business that doesn’t see a lot of snow during winter.
Advantages of Portable Driveway Snow Melting Mats
- You will no longer need to shovel your driveway during cold seasons.
- Portable driveway snow melting mats quickly melt snow.
- Mobile snow melting systems are easy to move and portable.
- Cheaper than the built-in driveway heating systems.
- Using or replacing them is very easy.
Challenges of Mobile Driveway Snow Melting Systems
- They are installed over the targeted area, and your driveway is not heated thoroughly.
- Aesthetic problems
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