All posts by Jenny Hallam

Does a Heated Driveway Work Through the Night?

Snow Sensors Automatically Detect Conditions

Driveway heating is designed to make your life easier. Many people wonder how much work a heated driveway requires once it is installed. Having to babysit the system would be considered a huge deterrent to purchasing a heated driveway, thus great effort has gone into streamlining the systems so they are fully automated and maintenance free. The automatic snow sensor that comes with every heated driveway is designed to set-up initially and then only touch it when small adjustments are needed throughout the season. The snow sensor does all the work of detecting snow and when to turn the heated driveway system on and off.

Going on vacation or even going to bed at night are usually the best times for snow to have time to accumulate. Winter storms don’t usually come at the most convenient times so planning around them is tough to do. With an automated snow melting system you really can leave it alone and let the heated driveway do all the heavy lifting. The driveway heating cables work when needed to keep the surface of your drive warm enough that snow and ice can’t stick for very long. You can enjoy a long, peaceful night of sleep as well as the knowledge that your driveway will be clear in the morning, no matter how deep the neighbor’s is.

Total Temperature Control with Radiant Floor Heating

Adjusting the Temperature with Floor Heat?

Radiant floor heating is a great way to heat your home. In-floor heating systems cut down on dust, noise, and cost. Radiant heat is efficient as it heats from the floor, rather than the vent in the ceiling of your family room. Temperature control is simple with the easy-to-set thermostat that comes with your radiant heated floor. Each room (or zone) also features its own thermostat, so you can efficiently heat only those area where you spend time. Warmzone also offers programmable thermostats so you can set-temperatures and times for your system to turn on or off. For example, you can have the floors warm 20 minutes before you get up each morning so you don’t have to walk across cold tile or hardwood on your way to the shower.

If you’re using heated floors as the sole heating source for your home, keep in mind that it does take some time for the system to warm enough to radiate the exact specified room temperature. There is just a small lag time as it warms the floor and eventually heats the room. While you enjoy total temperature control with radiant floor heating, you have to be patient as it warms to your desired temperature. Forced air turns more quickly but then you endure inefficient heating, air pollutants being stirred up, as well as higher heating costs. You pay more for less heat. Floor heating is efficient as it utilizes radiant heat to warm the entire room and its surroundings, not just the air through cold outer-wall vents.

Radiant Heat is the Heartbeat of a Heated Driveways

The Inner Workings of Driveway Heating

Anything worth anything has a heartbeat or at least something equivalent that breathes life and value into it. A heated driveway operates almost as seamlessly as our breathing. Radiant heat cables are at the center of that heating phenomenon and act like the all-important heartbeat, keeping your driveway clear of unwanted snow every time it snows. In fact your own heartbeat can stay calm all winter long, thanks to the technology of radiant heat cables. They do all the work, so you don’t have too.

Asphalt driveway with heated tire tracks

Electric radiant heated driveways are fully automated snow melting systems. ClearZone radiant heat cables are extremely durable and versatile. The heat cable can be safely installed in new concrete, under pavers, and even in hot asphalt applications. And the radiant systems can be easily customized to match your specific snow removal requirements.

The heat cables lay seamlessly beneath the surface just as your heart beats just beneath your chest, keeping the whole system running properly. Activated by a high-tech snow sensor that detects precipitation and temperatures, the sensor activates the driveway heating system only when needed. In addition to the system’s automated capabilities, it also features manual operation mode, should you choose.

We are hardly aware of the all-important work our own hearts do, but without them we wouldn’t be walking around. Radiant heat is just as important to your heated driveway and works to make your life better, just below the surface.

Are Heated Driveways Eco-Friendly?

Driveway Heating is Easy on You and the Environment

There is a lot to love about having a heated driveway. You abscond from back breaking snow removal after every single snow storm for the entire time you live with a radiant heated driveway. You should love your radiant heated driveway for that perk alone, but it does so much more. Having a heated driveway allows you to stash your snow shovel, snow blower, salt and deicing products. You don’t have to hire anyone to provide snow removal and you don’t have to do it yourself either.

Grass damaged from salt applied to melt snow during winter

Because of the simple automation of radiant heated driveways there is no longer a worry about using harsh chemicals to keep the ice away. The snow melting system takes the burden of snow removal from you and the harsh products out of your soil and gutters. Installing a heated driveway helps keep the environment clean, by avoiding cruel environmentally toxic products.

Radiant heated driveways are wise investment to any new home construction and a valuable resale home improvement project to your lived in and loved in home. But heated driveways also reduce your impact on the environment by eliminating fuel emissions from your snow blowers, trucks with blades, even four-wheelers that push snow. The costs are more minimal that you might imagine as the technology is perfected and the competition more savvy, pushing everyone to improve on the radiant heating cables being used as well as the overall cost to the end users.

Consider the Unwanted Things, Like Snow

With a Heated Driveway, Unwanted Things Never have to be an Issue

Sure, there are plenty of things in life that are considered unwanted, such as warts, lima beans, mortgage payments, mosquitoes, and snow just to name a few. Snow definitely has some appeal to winter sport enthusiasts and Olympic skiers, but when it comes to accumulating snow on our driveways and walkways it quickly turns into an unwanted thing, joining the ranks of ingrown toenails and flea-infested dogs. It doesn’t have to be that way.

With a radiant heated driveway, snow is almost a non-issue for you. Going forward, if your home has a radiant heated driveway you will never dread winter again. You might even look forward to it after you’ve enjoyed the seasons leading up to it. Having a radiant heated driveway allows you to consider the possibility of enjoying a winter, a winter filled with buckets and buckets of fluffy white snow.

Heated driveways are not just for the rich and famous either. You can enjoy a heated driveway with minimal cash output if you do your homework, research the right snowmelt system for your driveway, and rely on professionals who know what they are doing. One of your best resources could be a Warmzone home heating expert who has the product knowledge and expertise to guide you through the initial unknown learning curve of installing a radiant heated driveway. Consider the possibilities.

Roof Deicing Protects Homes in Buffalo, New York

Roof Deicing and Gutter Trace Systems Eliminate Dangerous Ice Hazards

Known for its beauty as well as its extreme winter weather, neighborhoods in Buffalo, New York are all too familiar with snow and dangerous icicles forming on the roofs of homes and businesses. Installing a roof snow melting system always seemed like the ideal solution, but perceived by many as an unattainable luxury, most resorted to manually removing heavy ice and snow from roofs and gutters. However, as consumers learn about the benefits and affordability of roof deicing systems, more and more homeowners in Buffalo, are now finding heated roofs to be the safest, most reliable solution to protect their buildings and ensure safety for pedestrians.

A mountain lodge in dire need of a roof deicing system

Safety for family and friends is always at the forefront of our minds. Ice dams and icicles that form in the winter months cause unnecessary hazards that most homeowners aren’t willing to put up with. Icicles can easily dislodge, fall, and injure a person standing below. Ice dams cause expensive damage to roofs, and possibly the interior of homes if leaking or structural damage occurs. Installing roof deicing heat cables is a simple and cost-effective way to prevent the winter hazards associated with living in Buffalo.

Roof heat can easily be added to your roof eaves, thereby eliminating ice and snow in those areas. Heated roofs keep your home perimeter safe and reduce the risk of costly repairs that come with the destructive powers of winter.

Protecting your home, roof, and loved ones with a roof deicing system offers freeze protection throughout the harsh winter months. Many homeowners in Buffalo, New York are praising the peace of mind that comes from the protection that roof snow melting systems provide. Warmzone offers roof heating systems and gutter trace heat cable for all types of applications and roofing surfaces, including new construction, remodeling, or existing roofs.

All-Purpose Outdoor Heating Blankets

Rely on Heating Blankets for All Your Outdoor Needs

They say few things in life are certain. Most days you wake up and have a plan for how you think your day will go and pretty soon (as soon as you walk out the door usually) life hits you smack in the face and rearranges your day entirely. What you expected to happen doesn’t happen at all. So it’s hard to rely on anything for sure. The good thing about an all-purpose heating blanket is that in all ways you can always count on them. All your outdoor projects are made better because of the reliability of an easy-to-use outdoor heating blanket.

PowerBlanket outdoor heating blankets are versatile and durable insulated mats that thaw the ground, heat barrels, buckets of liquid, car batteries and engines, cure concrete, and even provide warmth for pets. PowerBlankets, as well as Warmtrax portable heating mats, are often used as portable snow melting solutions. Both types of heating mats are built for rugged outdoor use and are simple to use.

In many ways it is the ideal outdoor heating tool because it wears so many different hats. And each new hat an outdoor heating blanket wears it does well at the task at hand. Relying on a heating mat is one certain thing in your day. As long as you provide your weatherproof heating blanket with the proper electricity (120 volts), you are assured that your outdoor heating in all ways is heated always. Our all-purpose heating blanket is portable as well, so you can roll it up, smash it into a back seat and move it to the location you desire heat to happen. Simple as that, all ways, always.

Clear Driveways All Winter Long with Heated Driveways

Snow Melting Systems go to Work so you Don’t Have to

What if every time you looked out your front frosted window panes from January through April you saw pristine, sparkling pavement glistening in the sun where once only snow and ice piled up in perplexing amounts? That is the blissful reality for those who have a heated driveway. Putting a heated driveway to work for you, pulls the work load off your weary shoulders and places it squarely on the radiant snow melting system. Snow can be cleared as it falls instead of accumulating in frustrating amounts while you visit grandma over Christmas or take a tropical vacation mid-February to escape the doldrums of winter.

Heated concrete driveway for mountain lodge

The best news is that installing driveway heating requires minimal effort or upfront cost to make having a heated driveway a reality. In order to ensure a clear driveway all winter long you can add a fully automated snow melting system before your driveway is poured or laid. If you have an existing driveway, don’t feel left out in the cold, you too can enjoy a heated driveway. Driveway heating can be placed in your current asphalt or concrete driveway, making a retrofit a great home improvement project.

Snow shoveling can become a distant memory and you can enjoy clear driveways all winter long with the addition of a heated driveway to your home plans. The snow melting systems are automated so the system efficiently works when a snowstorm hits, whether you’re at work, in bed, or on vacation.

Driveway Heating Technology Stands the Test of Time

Heated Driveway Equipped with Automated Snow Sensors Proven to Last

Being the first to test out an unknown product can be scary, especially if we’ve invested a lot of time and money. Driveway heating technology isn’t new but people often wonder if the radiant snow melting systems are built to last and stand the test of winter over and over again. Year after year homeowners enjoy the benefits of snow melting systems. What has their use over time told us? That heated driveways are meant to last and to improve the value of your home.

Heated driveway in Denver
An electric heated driveway in action.

If you are just coming upon the savvy heated driveway scene, you are in luck. The technology has been tested and proven time and again with many happy snow-free customers. Installing a heated driveway system right now is not only a smart move for your property it is also fully automated and hands-free. You can sit inside your warm home, reading a good book with a blanket on your lap and watch with contentment as the snow falls outside, knowing you’ll never have to pick up a shovel. You can reserve your snow clothes for fun outdoor recreation like cross-country skiing or snowmobiling instead of clearing snow from your driveway.

With the help of a snow melting system control unit you can install a heated driveway and never worry about it. A wall-mounted control unit uses smart technology to detect precipitation and outside temperatures, thereby turning your system on and off when, and only when, it is needed. The heated driveway system controller is easy-to-use and consists of a timer and digital operator interface with manual override capability. Even the ancient Romans used principals similar to radiant heat and humans have only perfected since then. Driveway heating has been around for a long time and will be around for a long time to come.

Why Should You Use Electric Radiant Floor Heat?

If you’re going to invest in a new heating solution, you are also going to do your homework before that investment. Why should you use electric radiant floor heat versus more traditional home heating methods? Radiant floor heating works like the sun and warms the objects around it, not just the air, creating a more comforting and effective heat. This method of electric radiant floor heat is also more efficient since it can radiate heat to objects rather than cold air.

Electric radiant floor heating systems evenly distribute radiant heat throughout the floor area and gently warms the objects like furniture and curtains surrounding it. This type of system doesn’t use any blowing warmed air which cuts down on dust too. Your overall environment is healthier with less potential allergens floating around your breathing space.

Radiant floor heating has another big advantage because it distributes heat in the most dramatically efficient direction; from the bottom to the top. Heat naturally rises, and radiant floor heating systems capitalize on this simple principle. Plus it spreads the heat evenly across your flooring surface, eliminating cold pockets that just never seem to get heated. Forced air systems simply can’t compete with efficiency, heating potential, comfort, and cleanliness.