wrote:
Suzanne Couturiaux wrote:
My husband and I are thinking about having a heated driveway
installed,
but before we start calling contractors, we're trying to gather as
much
information as possible about the different types of systems, the
cost
(of installing and operating), and general information about heated
driveways. We live in Pittsburgh, Pa. (where it's hilly and snowy)
and
have a short, steep, concrete driveway that my husband is tired of
shoveling every winter. (We're especially interested in systems
that

can be installed in an existing driveway). I was hoping someone
here
might be able to provide some information about heated driveways or
point me to other sites, and share their experiences with heated
driveways (good or bad).

Geez, I think I've replied to a number of threads. I'm looking into
it
as well. Take a look at

www.warmzone.com

They have an option for retrofitting an existing driveway by cutting
notches in it and laying down the heating wire. If you have a very
long driveway, they have a couple of pics which show just the tire
track area heated.

It costs approx 1kwh/100 sq feet of coverage, but it only turns on
when
it's WET and COLD outside... i.e. snowing.

Sorry, I misquoted the formula:

A: The average operational cost for a snow melting system is
approximately $0.28 per 100 square feet per hour. This figure is based
on a system producing 28 watts/sq.ft. with a kwh rate of $0.10 per
hour. If you know the square feet of the area you want to heat, and
your kwh rate, you can calculate the operational costs with this
formula: heatable sq.ft. times watts/sq.ft.,d ivided by 1000, times
your kwh rate.