August 6th, 2010
Are you interested in a more natural way of melting snow – a way that actually works like nature so that it can outsmart winter? A quality snow melting system is your best option. Unlike snow blowers, shovels, snow plows, deicing chemicals, and other snow removal methods, a good snow melting system for your walkway and driveway works just like mother nature to remove ice and snow from your property quickly and easily.
Consider how Mother Nature gets rid of snow and ice. If you never removed snow from your walkways and driveways – what would happen? Would nature come along with a giant shovel and scoop the snow somewhere else? Does nature simply move snow from one place to another? Of course not. Does nature produce a chemical that removes snow and ice? It’s a pretty silly idea.
What actually happens is this: spring comes along and with it the warm weather does as well. The sun warms the sidewalks and walkways and as it does so, the ice and snow melt naturally (since snow and ice melt naturally at any temperature above zero degrees Celsius, it doesn’t even take a very hot day to melt your snow). This is the way nature does things because it is the most effective way. The snow and ice simply melt away, leaving no residue. An ice melting system which uses nexans cables is the only snow removal method that allows you to get rid of snow and ice from your property in this same, natural way.
With heated driveways and heated walkways, you work with nature rather than against it to make your property snow and ice free. You also use the most effective method to clear your property when you choose heated driveway systems. With snow blowers and plows, you still need to find a place to put all your snow. As well, these methods produce pollution and noise pollution in most cases. A shovel means backbreaking work – sometimes literally. Each year, thousands of people are rushed to emergency rooms after injuring themselves while shoveling snow. If you decide to use salt or other chemicals, you could be leaching chemicals into the groundwater, ruining your walkways and sidewalks (chemicals designed for removing ice and snow are very corrosive) and you could be poisoning wildlife. Do all of these so called “modern” methods sound like an improvement to you? Only a snow melt driveway system melts snow quickly and easily, without all these serious drawbacks. An electric snow melt system produces no noise, pollution, or toxins. It works naturally to rid your property of the ice and snow that make your walkways and driveways impassable. A quality snow melt system such as HeatTrak or Suntouch ProMelt is, quite simply, the only snow solution you need.
Tags: heated driveways, nexans cables
Posted in Construction, Driveway Melting Systems, Floor heating, Subtouch | No Comments »
April 21st, 2010
Electric floor heat allows you to enjoy toasty warm floors and feet year round and all day long. Whether you like puttering about your home in bare feet, or just want to avoid that extra pair of socks in the winter, electric floor heating systems are one of the cozier and more comfortable ways to heat your home. Since an electric floor warming system requires no maintenance, no furnace to fill, and no ducts, baseboards, or vents to clean, electric radiant floor heat also tends to be the more convenient heating choice for your home. However, these are not the only advantages of floor heat. A good heated floor system for your home can also help you stay in greater control of your heating system.
This is important because staying in control of your electric flooring system with heated floors allows you to conserve energy, save money, and enjoy greater comfort. For example, consider the fact that in floor heat allows you to zone heat your home. This means that you can choose to increase the heat in rooms that tend to be colder – such as rooms that tend to get less sunlight. It also allows you to turn down the heat for rooms that tend to be warmer, such as the kitchen. If there are rooms in your home that you rarely use, such as your laundry room, you can keep the heat at a minimal level around using radiant floor heat. By zone heating your home, you are ensuring energy savings as well as energy conservation. You simply use less energy without noticing that you are using less energy. You stay just as cozy and warm, but you are not spending money and the fuel to heat parts of your home that do not require heat. In addition, zone heating actually helps you stay more comfortable. By adjusting heat room by room, you can avoid cold spots and too-warm rooms, which is the traditional fate of most homes heated by other heating systems. Plus, if different members of your family prefer different temperatures, zone heating allows everyone to choose the perfect temperature for them.
Suntouch floor system comes with a room by room thermostat, allowing you to set different heat levels for different rooms. Some quality radiant floor heat systems, including Suntouch floor heating, come with a programmable thermostat. This makes it easy for you to program your thermostats for when you need them. That is, your home can be cozy and warm when you return home from work without you having to leave the heat on all day. You can maintain minimum heat levels throughout the day and then program your thermostat to gently increase the temperature shortly before you are due home. Similarly, you can program your thermostat to be warmer in the mornings. This allows you to step out of bed and right onto a toasty warm floor instead of icy cold floors, ensuring that you have a better morning.
Tags: electric floor warming system, electric flooring, Suntouch floor system
Posted in Construction, Driveway Melting Systems, Floor heating | No Comments »
March 17th, 2010
Almost everyone can agree that when the first snowfall of the year comes, it is met with a degree of enthusiasm and excitement. The pristine whiteness of the winter landscape is breathtaking! Holiday dreams, snowmen, skiing, hot chocolate, and a warm, toasty fire are here to greet us. Then the next snowfall hits, and then the next, and then the next, and reality comes rushing in because with each snowfall comes a great deal of work. All that snow must be removed from our walkways and driveways in order to make it safe for us to go about our daily living.
Perhaps our first inclination after a snowfall is to either grab a shovel or a snow blower and head out to begin the task of digging out. Though these two methods are good at getting the top layers of snow off, they do relatively very little to remove the residual snow and ice left behind. For this you will need a snow melting system. Perhaps one of the most common driveway snow melting systems that we use includes the sprinkling of rock salt, rock pellets, and various de-icing chemicals over the surface of the driveway and walkway. Though these can be very effective, they can also be very environmentally unfriendly. To avoid harsh chemicals that come with de-icing products such as salt, one could use sand or even bird seeds. However, these two products will not melt the snow and ice but will give you better traction.
In today’s technically advanced world, new snow melting devices have come forth to help us combat the challenge of keeping our driveways and walkways free of snow and ice buildup. Perhaps the best of these new products in driveway snow melting includes that of radiant heating. In radiant heating, cables housing electrical wiring are laid under the concrete, asphalt, or brick surface. The ends of the electrical wires are then connected to a control box which is attached to the side of the house or inside a garage. The controls can then be programmed to come on when sensors sense moisture on the driveway and walkway surfaces. These same sensors, once detecting the surfaces are dry, will then automatically shut off. Another form of radiant heating is a hydronic system. In the hydronic system, flexible cables that contain fluids are run under the pavement. As the snow begins to fall, the fluid is heated and prevents the buildup of any snow from accumulating. The greatest advantage of having a radiant system is that it virtual eliminates having to shovel at all.
Though the initial cost of installing a radiant heating system can be a bit expensive, the long term savings it offers makes it very affordable when weighed against the hours of shoveling and the tons upon tons of rock salt, sand, or seeds that one would have to purchase over the years. The average cost of running the system can be as little as fifty cents per hour covering a 300 square foot area. But an even more important advantage of this radiant snow melting system is the freedom it gives you to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the season at hand. So, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
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