Warmzone Blog

Let’s be honest…most of the time, you’re probably not thinking about the weather and its effect on your home, right? But sometimes, all it takes is a little bit of icy weather to remind you how much damage they can inflict upon your home. You are aware about the problems of slick and icy sidewalks and driveways, downed power lines, and dangerous icy roads. One thing many homeowners forget about is that ice storms or wet winter weather and cold temperatures can do a real number on gutters and roofs, too.

Boy do we have a great solution to these problems: outdoor heating systems. They can help prevent the ice from building up and destroying gutters and roofs on your home. There are numerous systems available to prevent roof and gutter damage; one such system is WarmZone’s RoofHeat system. When mounted to your roof eaves and/or valleys, the RoofHeat system is designed to eliminate ice and snow in those areas keeping your home or business perimeter safer and reducing the risk of winter roof damage.

RoofHeat outdoor heating system receives its heat from one of two sources. A “cut to length” commercial grade, self regulating heat cable can be inserted into custom channels or ⅜ inch radiant PEX tubing from an existing hydronic system. These panels are attached to the roof eaves and valleys to prevent ice and snow build up in those areas.

Outdoor Heating Systems Tip: The RoofHeat system is available in a wide variety of panel colors and textures to complement your roof.

Can you feel the excitement in the air? That’s probably because many recent developments have made hydronic systems more convenient and possible radiant heater solutions for major home remodeling projects. Today we’re going to discuss one form of radiant heaters: hydronic floor heating.

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.

You may find that, for heating smaller areas such as a bathroom or kitchen, a hydronic floor radiant 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: No matter the purpose, radiant heaters for your home or business come in a variety of forms – all efficient and providing reliable, cozy warmth

The first snow of the year, you might not have minded heading outside with your snow shovel to clear out your driveway. But several storms into winter, it’s a real pain to dig your driveway out of a snowstorm. It takes hours of back-breaking work, only to have to do it all again the next morning after another snowstorm overnight. We say it’s time to hang up that snow shovel and look into heated driveways, one of the many outdoor heating systems available for homeowners (and businesses, too!).

In many ways, the best heated driveway systems are radiant heating systems, similar to indoor floor heating systems. Most heated driveway systems incorporate an automatic sensor that detects inclement weather to activate the system. Electric systems tend to be more efficient, require less maintenance, and heat surfaces quicker. Hydronic systems are usually slightly more expensive to purchase and install, but the operational costs can be lower depending on the local fuel rates. Both systems have their advantages, however, the electric systems are gaining a lot of interest due to their price, ease of installation, and threatening future of the cost of fuel.

Can you imagine never having to shovel out your driveway again? Other benefits to this type of outdoor heating systems include avoiding injury due to slippery surfaces and having the confidence that your driveway will be cleared when you need to use it. Sounds like a dream come true.

Outdoor Heating Systems Tip: Other notable benefits to this kind of outdoor heating systems include adding value to your home, preserving the life of your driveway, and avoiding damage to bordering landscape with harmful salts and chemicals.

Now it’s not just televisions, cars, and MP3 players that feature new innovations all the time. Innovations in home heating are here and ready to keep your home comfortably heated! Flat panel radiant heaters are used to heat objects via radiant heat transfer. These radiant heaters have traditionally been used in a variety of industries and applications. Some of these applications include space heating, drying, curing, and water evaporation. More recently, these heating systems are also gaining popularity in home heating applications as well.

Radiant heaters use different types of emitter surfaces. Choices include: quartz, high-temperature glass, stainless steel, and ceramic tiles. These are all materials that are easily and efficiently used in home applications such as flooring, countertops, and towel racks. Because these items are easily turned into emitter surfaces for radiant heat, they can easily and beautifully be incorporated into home heating applications such as heated floors, walls, and towel racks.

Want to find out more about radiant heaters for your home? It’s so simple; just check with the folks at warmzone.com. They have a complete product catalog of radiant heating solutions that can accommodate almost any application or budget.

Radiant Heaters Tip: Not only are radiant heaters a great way to efficiently heat a home, while maximizing your home’s beauty, but they are very cost effective and easy to install.

If you entertain at your home often, consider installing an outdoor heating system. Maybe if you live in a snowy climate, being able to entertain outdoors year-round has been just a dream, but thanks to an outdoor heating system that dream can become a reality.  Whether it’s winter or fall, or even a chilly spring, an outdoor heating system enables you to have a comfortable, heated entertaining space year-round.

Maybe you’re wondering just how an outdoor heating system works; well, it’s similar to how indoor radiant heat works.  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 with an outdoor heating system will conveniently remove any snow or ice and allow you to use your outdoor living areas more often, not to mention safely and comfortably.

Outdoor Heating System Tip:  In general, capable do-it-yourselfers will have no problem laying out the cable for the outdoor heating systems and preparing them for a certified electrician to do the final connections.

A lot of people out there might hear about allergies and asthma and assume that they’re only warm-weather maladies–I sure did once upon a time. But the sad and uncomfrotable truth is, they’re very often year-round! Allergies and asthma affect at least 60 million Americans in one way or another, generally making the sufferers rather miserable. Many allergy and asthma experts will advise certain changes in housekeeping habits to help alleviate allergy- or asthma-causing conditions in your home. In addition, you might consider changing your heat source to radiant heaters.

It could come as a surprise to learn that radiant heaters could be such a simple solution to helping keep your home healthy. In reality, radiant heaters improve the air quality, which is important, especially for anyone who suffers from either dust allergies or asthma. Not having to change air filters or clean heating ducts should also cut down dramatically on dust or other allergens in your home’s air.

Allergy experts agree that another way to keep your home healthy is to eliminate the dust mites that live in your home. Since dust mites love a warm moist environment, towel heaters and other radiant heater systems aid in maintaining a consistent room temperature and keep it moisture-free…and dust mite-free, too. Furthermore, mold and mildew are also caused from excessive moisture especially in bathrooms with insufficient ventilation.

Radiant Heater Tip: Did you know that simply by placing radiant heaters or a radiant heat towel rack in the bathroom you can combat the spread of germs for only pennies a day?