Warmzone Blog

Even if you don’t get a lot of snow in your area, just ice, you still have a lot of preparation to do for wintry weather: covering the AC units, buying ice-melt, or buying a new ice scrapers for car windshields. However, with the new outdoor heating system available that can automatically melt snow and ice from sidewalks and driveways, you won’t be as busy with winter preparations and will have a lot more family time.
Outdoor snow melting systems in concrete, asphalt and under pavers was thought to be a luxury most people couldn’t afford. Now, heating driveways, walkways or even parking areas is becoming common for many residences and businesses. If you live in a cold region that requires snow removal you should consider a automated snow melting system before you begin construction to assure yourself the best design and performance.
Not only is an outdoor heating system convenient, but it’s inexpensive as well. By the time I account for the ice melt I won’t buy, the time I won’t spend, and the money saved on trips to the chiropractor after shoveling snow, I should have the outdoor heating system paid off in a winter or two.
Heated Driveway Tip: Adding a heated driveway to your home or business will add safety and value to your property.

You probably heaved a big sigh of relief when you raked that last leaf into that last pile and bagged it up or put it in the mulch pile. You figured you were done caring for your lawn until next spring, right? Well, just because it’s wintertime doesn’t mean you can’t protect your garden or lawn. In the colder months, heating systems are the best option to melt the ice and to protect your landscaping. Electric Radiant Heat systems like heated driveways do more than just melt snow and ice from driveways and sidewalks. They also help preserve your landscaping while avoiding the use of harmful salt and chemicals.
The potential damage done to lawns and landscaping by salt spread over asphalt and sidewalks to melt the ice is notable. The sodium chloride burns the plants and gets absorbed by the plants’ root systems. This just means you’ll have damage to repair in the springtime — so easily avoided with the use of heating systems.
The solution isn’t to use alternate “ice-melt” products, which don’t work as effectively as outdoor heating systems. You see, these systems don’t use any harmful chemicals, and they melt the ice so effectively that you don’t have to do any of the work.
Electric Radiant Heat tip: These heating systems are state of the art but easy to install for any contractor or do-it-yourself expert.

Maybe you don’t give it much thought, but you create a lot of memories with your family in your home.Whether you’re watching movies or football games together, having a wonderful family dinner together, or just being together, your home needs to be comfortable.  You can add to the coziness and comfort of yoru home by adding some warmth under your feet from radiant floor heating.

You may be wondering just how does radiant floor heating work?  Simply put, it heats the floor with electrical resistance cables that are spread evenly and sandwiched between layers of durable fabric. The fabrics used vary depending on the manufacturer or brand. Some use mortar with heating mats or rolls of heating sheets. All of these options are easy to install yourself or can be quickly installed by your flooring installer. If you choose to install the radiant floor heating system yourself, you will want to have a certified electrician connect the controls to a programmable thermostat for the ultimate efficiency.

Radiant Floor Heating Tip:  Not only is radiant floor heating more comfortable, but the costs of operating radiant floor heating systems are often reported to be significantly decreased as compared to other residential heating options.

Last fall you probably heaved a big sigh of relief when you raked that last leaf into that last pile and bagged it up or put it in the mulch pile. You figured you were done caring for your lawn until next spring, right? Now that spring is here, you may notice some damage to your lawn as a result of the ice melt products you used last winter. Remember next winter, that just because it’s wintertime doesn’t mean you can’t protect your garden or lawn. In the colder months, heating systems are the best option to melt the ice and to protect your landscaping. Heating systems like heated driveways do more than just melt snow and ice from driveways and sidewalks. They also help preserve your landscaping while avoiding the use of harmful salt and chemicals.
The potential damage done to lawns and landscaping by salt spread over asphalt and sidewalks to melt the ice is notable. The sodium chloride burns the plants and gets absorbed by the plants’ root systems. This just means you’ll have damage to repair in the springtime — so easily avoided with the use of heating systems.
The solution isn’t to use alternate “ice-melt” products, which don’t work as effectively as outdoor heating systems. You see, these systems don’t use any harmful chemicals, and they melt the ice so effectively that you don’t have to do any of the work.
Heating Systems Tip: These heating systems are state of the art but easy to install for any contractor or do-it-yourself expert.

Now that it’s spring, you’ll be busy caring for your lawn.  Last winter, you probably figured you were done caring for your lawn until  spring, right?  Well, as many people with find out this spring, wintertime is still a time when you need to worry about protecting your lawn. In the colder months, heating systems are the best option to melt the ice and to protect your landscaping. Heating systems like heated driveways do more than just melt snow and ice from driveways and sidewalks. They also help preserve your landscaping while avoiding the use of harmful salt and chemicals.
The potential damage done to lawns and landscaping by salt spread over asphalt and sidewalks to melt the ice is notable. The sodium chloride burns the plants and gets absorbed by the plants’ root systems. This just means you’ll have damage to repair in the springtime — so easily avoided with the use of heating systems.
The solution isn’t to use alternate “ice-melt” products, which don’t work as effectively as outdoor heating systems. You see, these systems don’t use any harmful chemicals, and they melt the ice so effectively that you don’t have to do any of the work.
Heating Systems Tip: These heating systems are state of the art but easy to install for any contractor or do-it-yourself expert.

Following the trends of the indoor heating market, where radiant heating systems have been used for decades, the great outdoors is warming up, too. Radiant heat warms the floor and any object in contact with the floor to distribute an even, no-draft heat. Outdoor settings like patios or pathways leading to a hot tub can now benefit from using a traditional hydronic radiant heating system or even more intriguing is the emerging trend of embedding electric heating cables to provide that desired surface temperature. Raising the surface above 38 degrees will conveniently remove any snow or ice and allow you to use your outdoor living areas more often.
Outdoor heating systems are more suited towards new construction since these electric heating cables are actually embedded in the concrete or placed in a sand bed directly under brick pavers. Ambitious do-it-yourselfers will have no problem laying out the cable and preparing them for a certified electrician to do the final hook-up. Outdoor heating systems have always been efficient in delivering heat; the problem has been shutting them off when the job of removing snow from a driveway or outdoor patio is complete.

Even those more-capable-than-most do it yoruselfers might think that electric radiant heat is difficult and time-consuming to install, and has the risk of uneven heating spacing – but times have changed since those early days of the radiant heat technology, and it’s easier than you would imagine. Let’s get you up-to-date on how many improvements have been made to electric radiant heat, contributing to it fast becoming a popular choice for energy-efficient and cost-efficient home heating.
It used to be that electric radiant heat was, once upon a time, supplied as one long continuous length of cable with the consumer having to weave the cable up and down the floor at a pre-determined spacing and making a return loop to complete the circuit.
However, recent and improved designs in electric radiant heat cables have a built-in return meaning that you only have one end to connect instead of having to close the circuit by bringing each end of the cable back to the thermostat. Far from complicated to install, electric radiant heat cable mats have taken the hard work out of the install by having the radiant heating cable already pre-spaced on to a nylon mesh and all you have to do is simply start at your thermostat location and roll it out over the floor until it’s all used up.

If you’re like me, you thought that spring was here to stay.  Well, apparently not, because I woke up yesterday to almost an inch of snow.  If you live in a volatile climate like I do, one thing is for certain…the weather is not. As such, this spring and summer take advantage of an opportunity to lessen the amount of work you have to do this next winter.  I’m talking about the dreaded snow removal that I always fear.  Recently I discovered that there were snow removal systems, which are essentially heated driveways, that eliminate the need to shovel snow.  My first question was “don’t those use a lot of energy?”  Surprisingly the answer is “no!”  This is because new technology, especially in the area of thermostats make it so that the system turns on and off automatically, and runs only when needed, making it very economical to operate.  Furthermore, I was pleasantly surprised that these snow melting systems were a lot more affordable than I had assumed.  If you’re like me, and sick and tired of shoveling snow in the winter, now is the perfect time to start considering installing a heated driveway.  This spring, as you start on your “to do” list of home improvements, make sure that a heated driveway is at the top of your list.

Spring is the time when most new construction starts around the country.  Even with the slowing of the housing market, many homeowners are still choosing tile or scored cement flooring for their homes, particularly in kitchens and living areas.  Sometimes they second-guess those choices, worrying about their little ones playing, or laying down on cold floors. Many others love the look of tile, wood, or floating woods but dread stepping out of their soothing hot shower onto cold tile, especially during those frigid winter months. And That’s why so many are opting for floor heating systems to warm up their floors.

Contrary to what some may think, the installation of floor warming products is not new: heated floors have been installed under bathroom and kitchen tile in the United States for the past 10 years and the warming products continue to gain popularity. Many in the kitchen and bath industry expect radiant floors to continue to play a big role among homeowners who crave comfort features.

Evenly distributed radiant heat in your floors will allow you to turn down your thermostat two to four degrees. This can reduce energy costs by 10-40%. This setback to your thermostat can happen because a warm floor heats from the ground up and delivers the heat through objects not air. This makes the lowest three feet of your home the most comfortable where a forced air system loses its heat to the ceiling and is required to heat from the top down.

Radiant Floor Heating Tip: Delivering heat by air also makes it easy to escape and increase your overall heat loss but with radiant floor heating, the heat is evenly distributed and efficient to boot.

You may not know that radiant heaters for your home or business come in a variety of forms – all efficient and providing reliable, cozy warmth. Today we’re going to discuss one form of radiant heaters: hydronic floor heating.

Quite a name, isn’t it? Hydronic floor heating is the oldest and most popular type of radiant floor heating. These systems are comprised of a boiler or hot water heater, pumps, manifolds, PEX tubing, thermostat, and either gypcrete (a concrete-like material) or wood panels. Hydronic heating is the most complex of all radiant heat systems. These systems require trained professionals to design and perform the installation. Your best economies of scale are achieved for hydronic systems in large areas or entire homes because of their expensive components and operational costs. Hydronic systems can be installed under any type of flooring. Most hydronic systems require hot water tubing to be installed in a 2-4″ bed of light concrete and are best installed during the initial construction because of its weight load demands and adjustments to floor height.

For heating smaller areas such as a bathroom or kitchen, a hydronic floor heating system may not be the best value for your project. The complexity and cost of installing the system, along with the long-term maintenance and up-keep required, might not be worth the small amount you will save in operational costs.

Radiant Heaters Tip: Many recent developments have made hydronic systems more convenient and possible radiant heater solutions for major home remodeling projects.