Most homeowners need to access their homes using concrete pavements, driveways or walkways because it is very convenient. However, this convenience together with other benefits offered by paved surfaces is affected by the onset of winter. During winter, many places across the US experience snowing. The snow is traditionally plowed by use of plows and shovels. When one needs heated driveway Denver offers the perfect location to visit.
There is a lot of hard work involved in plowing snow away. Some of the work can be outright dangerous and demanding physically. To that end, a few solutions to the snow problem have been formulated and are in use in different places. One of the most convenient ways of handling snow problem is the installation of heated driveway systems.
Heated driveway systems are basically snow melting systems that operate on electric power. They heat and melt snow, enabling driveways to stay dry and free of snow, ice and other forms of solid precipitations. However, to save on the amount of electricity used, they are designed in such a manner that they heat only specific parts of driveways. The portions of driveways that are warmed are the ones that have vehicular traffic leading to the house.
There are two major types of heated driveways. The first type is the electric coil and the other one is the hydronic heated driveway systems. Snow that forms is warmed and melted using metal rods heated by electricity when electric coil systems are installed. This rods are usually installed beneath the pavement. It is possible to program these systems such that they can go on and off automatically when necessary.
One can also program the system to turn on and off automatically at a given time. Another aspect of the system that can be pre-programmed is the duration that the system stays on once it is automatically turned on. A single cable of the system can have power output of between 6 and 50 Watts per linear foot. The system is able to attain a temperature of 93.33 degrees Celsius or more depending on the model.
Snow can thus be melted at a rate of a few inches per hour at that temperature. There are systems that are developed to automatically turn on whenever they sense any form of precipitation. The system is capable of keeping air up to a given height above the pavement heated enough so that snow does not form on the surface. As such, instead of melting already formed snow, the system prevents snow from forming in the first place.
In hydonic systems, PVC tubing is installed under the pavement to form a zigzag shape. Hot water together with an anti-freezing substance is made to circulate in the tube. This prevents formation of snow on the pavement by keeping the concrete/asphalt warm. Installing these systems is more expensive than installing electric coils. However, using these systems is cheaper in the long term compared to electric coils.
There are several advantages that are associated with installing systems for heating pavements. One of the advantages is that they eliminate the need to use shovel and plows to remove snow. Shovels and plows usually cause scraping and chipping to the pavement, leading to damage. Also, the systems do not need any kind of maintenance once they are installed.
There is a lot of hard work involved in plowing snow away. Some of the work can be outright dangerous and demanding physically. To that end, a few solutions to the snow problem have been formulated and are in use in different places. One of the most convenient ways of handling snow problem is the installation of heated driveway systems.
Heated driveway systems are basically snow melting systems that operate on electric power. They heat and melt snow, enabling driveways to stay dry and free of snow, ice and other forms of solid precipitations. However, to save on the amount of electricity used, they are designed in such a manner that they heat only specific parts of driveways. The portions of driveways that are warmed are the ones that have vehicular traffic leading to the house.
There are two major types of heated driveways. The first type is the electric coil and the other one is the hydronic heated driveway systems. Snow that forms is warmed and melted using metal rods heated by electricity when electric coil systems are installed. This rods are usually installed beneath the pavement. It is possible to program these systems such that they can go on and off automatically when necessary.
One can also program the system to turn on and off automatically at a given time. Another aspect of the system that can be pre-programmed is the duration that the system stays on once it is automatically turned on. A single cable of the system can have power output of between 6 and 50 Watts per linear foot. The system is able to attain a temperature of 93.33 degrees Celsius or more depending on the model.
Snow can thus be melted at a rate of a few inches per hour at that temperature. There are systems that are developed to automatically turn on whenever they sense any form of precipitation. The system is capable of keeping air up to a given height above the pavement heated enough so that snow does not form on the surface. As such, instead of melting already formed snow, the system prevents snow from forming in the first place.
In hydonic systems, PVC tubing is installed under the pavement to form a zigzag shape. Hot water together with an anti-freezing substance is made to circulate in the tube. This prevents formation of snow on the pavement by keeping the concrete/asphalt warm. Installing these systems is more expensive than installing electric coils. However, using these systems is cheaper in the long term compared to electric coils.
There are several advantages that are associated with installing systems for heating pavements. One of the advantages is that they eliminate the need to use shovel and plows to remove snow. Shovels and plows usually cause scraping and chipping to the pavement, leading to damage. Also, the systems do not need any kind of maintenance once they are installed.
About the Author:
When you are searching for information about a heated driveway Denver residents can come to our web pages today. More details are available at http://www.northstardesign-build.com/heated-pavements.html now.
Comments
Post a Comment