Living in the north, the tremendous amount of snow all of us accumulate over the Winter time is a problem, but it takes a good deal of time and effort to shovel walkways and plow driveways! Eventually, the snow piles up and blocks access to the garage! The two of us get wet feet walking from the car to the house, and there’s the danger of slipping on icy pavement, then because it snows so frequently, it’s necessary to maintain the sidewalks and driveways nearly every day and occasionally more than once per day.
My home is equipped with a boiler heating plan that is fastened to a network of pipes concealed beneath the floor… Radiant floor heating is appealingly energy efficient and effective… No matter how cold the weather, the home is perfectly comfortable. There’s no cold pockets or drafts and minimal stratification from floor to ceiling. The equipment takes up no living space, makes no noise and requires no service. The two of us decided all of us wanted these same benefits outside. The two of us tore up the driveway and sidewalks and installed a snowmelt system. It works very much like the radiant floor heating plan inside, and a series of pipes is hidden under the pavement and fastens to the boiler in our basement. The boiler sends hot water through the pipes, which melts snow and ice and keeps the pavement bare. The snowmelt plan automatically starts up when the temperature dips below cold and it senses moisture. There’s no longer any need to plow or shovel or walk through multiple feet of snow between the home and garage. I avoid harsh snowmelt chemicals which can damage landscaping and get tracked into the house.