Heated Driveways vs. Traditional Snow Removal: Who Wins?

If you live in Toronto or the Greater Toronto Area, you know that the snow season spans from November through March. This means it’s time to get your shovel out and bite the cold to clean out your driveway. Sounds like a challenge, right? Well, it is. Even if you’re used to shoveling snow year after year, the manual labor involved can feel like a Herculean task.

So what do you do? Do you clear out your driveaway the traditional way? Or go for something modern, like heated driveways? To be fair, both approaches have their pros and cons, but there is one clear winner between them. In this blog, you will learn all about which of the two solutions is better than the other.

Heated Driveways: The Modern Solution For Age-Old Woes

Snow on your driveway is a time-honored problem that comes with winter. However, heated driveways are the modern solution to this timeworn problem. Making use of electric or hydronic (heated water) heating systems that are installed underneath your driveway to melt snow as well as ice, driveway heating systems trump traditional snow removal in several ways:

Unmatched Convenience

Nothing compares to the convenience of heated driveways. You don’t have to put any effort into these systems to get your driveway snow-free. You get the option of choosing between automatic and manual switch systems. While the former works automatically after detecting the temperature of your surroundings, for the latter you just have to flick a switch on to get rid of ice in your path. A great time and effort-saver.

Safe To Use

Icy driveways are one of the biggest causes of slips and falls during the winter season. A risk you can entirely eliminate by installing driveway heated systems. By keeping your driveway ice-free, these ensure that the journey to your car is safe and accident-free. A major plus for families with kids or elderly members.

Easy Maintenance

Investing in traditional snow removal tools entails regular upkeep. You have to maintain your tools such as snowblowers and shovels as well as restock de-icers. You may even have to fix a cracked driveway every now and then. However, with heated driveways, you don’t have to worry about any of these issues. Once installed, you can forget about maintaining them, thus eliminating the scope of seasonal hassle.

Traditional Snow Removal: An Outmoded Hassle

Be it shoveling, plowing or even snow-blowing - each of these traditional methods of snow removal, though familiar, comes with its own fair share of downsides. Let’s have a look.

Since this type of snow removal involves a lot of manual labor, it can be both taxing and time-consuming. Even if you use a snowblower, you have to run it through the length of your driveway on your own, which can be exhausting. 

Manual snow removal isn’t very safe as it requires you to walk through icy pathways, which is always a fall risk. 

There is recurring maintenance involved in traditional snow removal methods. You have to restock de-icers frequently, the cost of which can add up over time.

Why Heated Driveways Are The Clear Winner

All things considered, heated driveways outweigh traditional snow removal methods when it comes to benefits. They are low maintenance, offer long-term cost-savings and are more environment-friendly compared to their manual counterparts. Plus, they increase the value of your property and save you a ton of time and effort.

Conclusion  

Planning to get heated driveway systems for your home? We can help you! At A.S. Electrical Services Ltd., we can install different types of heated driveways and walkways on your home or commercial property. Our skilled electricians can also help you figure out the right kind of controller for your system. Contact us to get heated driveways installed anywhere in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area!