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Funny that all the naysayers live in areas that don't get much snow. I shoveled my driveway quite a bit this last season. Which is easier, electric, or hot water. I'm leaning towards electric. While it may be two to four inches every other morning it's better than what happens if you don't.
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Originally Posted by mkarch
Well it is true that NoVa rarely gets snow, but it's cold. So when it does snow several feet it can stick around for weeks. A little bit melts every day, and re-freezes every night. During the winter of 09-10, 2 storms dropped over 4 feet in a week. We had drifts in the front yard until April.
actually, i never have any issue with ice....i have a sloped driveway....when i shovel the snow off the driveway, i usually have clear (non-icy) driveway from then on. so, i'm not too woried about the ice aspect.
MrWillys, i agree, i think i'm leaning towards electric too.
Well you asked if it was going to be worth it, I guess that's really a relative question.
Is it cheaper than paying the neighborhood kid to shovel your driveway? No
Is it cheaper than getting a little exercise instead of paying $50 to go to the gym? No
Is cheaper than buying a snow Blower? No
The key to any driveway and ice is first to make sure it drains properly and secondly is get the snow off of it before it gets packed down.
For me to do this first we need a new driveway. $$$
Pex becsue I have coal boiler $$$ for the pex.
Need a heat exchanger. $$$
Many gallons of anti freeze.$$$
actually, i never have any issue with ice....i have a sloped driveway....when i shovel the snow off the driveway, i usually have clear (non-icy) driveway from then on. so, i'm not too woried about the ice aspect.
MrWillys, i agree, i think i'm leaning towards electric too.
Anyone, any idea as far as costs?
Ugh, our place there faced East and was on an slight Eastern slope. Morning melt, afternoon freeze. Nasty conditions would last for weeks. Didn't help that there were a couple of large oak trees to the South.
well, i agree with you in that water heating makes little sense....but what about electricity? .
3X the fuel costs over natural gas. I have had people look into this using coal which is the very cheapest form of heat you can have it never adds up to being practical.
Have you ever been to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. There are webcams that show their streets. They have used the hot springs to run underneath their streets to keep them clear and they get a lot of snow.
I am just wondering how the cost of a warmed driveway would compare with the cost of a snow blower or the cost of having someone do the blowing and at what number of inches of snow this would not work? Otherwise, go for it.
I have a hundred foot driveway and the chepest heat you can have.
That might be your perception, but it's my understanding fracking is bruising you? So, is there a coal fired system for heating his driveway? My guess is it is cooler here on average than where you are? I'm 35 miles from the coldest average low in the 48. Coal, oil, gas, or electric, the thread is about heating driveways.
That might be your perception, but it's my understanding fracking is bruising you?
Close but no cigar, I've seen this movie before. As of right now per million BTU:
Anthracite Coal - $9.38
NG - $12.12
The coal is about $180 per ton delivered. It's going to cost him more becsue of the shipping but there is lot of people there using it. He could get soft coal local for about $60 per ton but not advisable for home heating especially if you want to remain friends with your neighbors. This is really only an option for those in the northeast close to the source for anthracite.
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So, is there a coal fired system for heating his driveway?
Anything you could possibly imagine is available; boilers, furnaces, inserts, hand fired, automatic stokers.... $12K antique basburners. Need a custom 1 million BTU boiler? That can be arranged.
In this case you would need a boiler and they start at about $7K but these are one time purchases that are going to last your lifetime. With that kind of investment you'd want to heat the house with it and do domestic hot water, unless you were going to run anti freeze in the whole system you'd need a heat exchanger too. I know lot of people have used them for their pools and I've seen the driveways discussed but by the time you install the concrete and the pex... $$$$. For me I'm not even looking at what the cost of the fuel is, it's the cost of the installation that is the kick in the teeth and I already have the boiler.
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My guess is it is cooler here on average than where you are?
I'm in PA, the highs are just below freezing in winter. Gets down to the single digits usually a week or two each year in total.
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As of right now per million BTU:
