With snowmelt systems the first question is it electric resistance or hydronics based? Both work, both are available but there are some huge differences in both installation, running costs.

An honest comparison.

Electric

While the installation of an electric snowmelt system is much simpler and electric resistance heating is 100% efficient, the devil is in the details. The cables operate at either 100% capacity or 0. While operating they can reach up to 464°F or 240°C. This high temperature is good in a sense because the snow will start melting soon after the system is turned on. Without a proper snowmelt controller however, the cables will prematurely burn out. This high temperature of operation can be problematic when you want to install insulation under the cables because that can melt. Without proper insulation up to 50% of that heat will go to waste. The cables need to be close to the surface minimize that heat loss. Embedding them in concrete will add to that distance causing a delay and increase heat loss. Even if treated and controlled with care the wires oxidize and burn out after around 6-10 years needing replacement. When covering with asphalt care must be taken not to melt and damage the cables’ insulation.
Another very important thing to consider is the electric supply capacity of the home. If you have a 200A electric panel which is typical for a modern home in Canada, chances are you have maybe 80A spare capacity left for things other than already connected to it. A 208V single phase electric snowmelt system uses 50W/ft² which is 0.24A/ft². That means you can install a 333 ft² electric snowmelt system before running out of power. A double car garage usual has an 800 ft² driveway attached to it. The most common driveway size in the GTA we install snowmelt for is 1,000 ft². That means you need to be able to dedicate 240A for the snowmelt system alone. Good luck finding a home like that. Upgrading your electric panel will cost you serious dollars and and is a months long process.

• Assuming you do have the power, you installed the cables and the asphalt on your 1,000 ft² driveway, you will be using 50kW electricity every hour the snowmelt is running.
• 1kWh of electricity costs $0.028 to $0.36 depending the time of the day in Ontario.
• With the average melt time of 6 hours that means you will be using 300kWh = $8.40 to $108.00 depending the time of the day for that melt cycle.
• Realistically if you have 4 snow falls a month including a storm you can figure 50 hours of melt time and $0.23/kWh average electricity rates that come to $575.00 before taxes.

Hydronic

A typical hydronic snowmelt system uses 3/4″ PEX tubing over R10 insulation which in turn is encased in concrete. This tubing has 25 years warranty but lab tests predict them to be usable up to 100 years. Every other part of the system is installed in an easily accessible area, usually the attached garage where it can be serviced as needed. The parts that usually need service are the circulator pumps and the boiler. Pumps in a snowmelt system can last 20 years easily if the quality of the antifreeze is stabilized and dirt free. Boilers usually carry 15 years warranties on the heat exchanger, 5 years on the rest of the components. If you maintain them properly they last for a long long time. Running costs at 85% efficiency for a 1,000 ft² driveway will be as follows:

• Each m³ natural gas corresponds to 36,303 BTU ~10.64 kWh energy when burned.
• Natural gas costs less per m³ the more you use. An average family dwelling in January 2024 used 642m³ at the cost of $297.00 not including HST that equals $0.46/m³~$0.043/kWh
• A Class 2 hydronic snowmelt system which means some snow may accumulate during operation uses about 170 BTUh/ft² in the GTA area
• 20% are losses to the ground and the edges for a delivered 136 useful BTUh/ft²
• Since the boilers operate at around 85% efficiency at the temperatures that are needed for a snowmelt we need to burn 15% more gas to make up for efficiency losses
• 170/0.85=200 BTUh worth of natural is needed to deliver 136 useful BTUh to the surface to melt the snow
• 200 BTU = 0.005m³ natural gas which costs $0.46 x 0.005= $0.0023/ft² for each hour of operations
• That 1,000 ft² driveway will cost $2.30 every hour to melt the snow on and using the 50 hours per month run time as in the previous example it will cost you $115.00 before taxes

Conclusion

Here in the GTA we do not enjoy cheap electricity. Even in Quebec which has around 50% the costs of electricity as we do, you’d still be paying around $290.00 for something that will cost you $115.00 here in Ontario. Running costs are important but you also need to consider the installation costs in order to pick electric or hydronic. With electric the costs of installation are about 70% that of a hydronic system. Electric cables are 100% energy efficient however without insulation which is the usual way you waste 50% of that. Since you do not need a concrete base you save on the driveway itself. However you probably won’t have sufficient electricity supply coming to your house, will have to redo the whole system every 6-10 years. For these reasons even if we consider our partiality to hydronics, if you have access to Natural Gas forget electric snowmelt systems.