Choice of output

For normal installations we recommend an output of around 270W/sqm which provides a good balance between speed of operation and power requirements. Often the limiting factor to the size of area which can be heated is the available power supply on site, and with restricted power supplies it is often possible to specify a lower powered system which will still clear the ice and snow.

Tyre track heating

Where a long driveway requires heating it is quite acceptable to simply heat two tyre tracks, leaving other areas unheated. This saves on the power requirements, and installation and running costs, and it allows longer driveways to be heated than would otherwise be possible.

Drainage channel heating

When heating a driveway or path area, it is vital to ensure that the water can safely run away and does not become pooled to then refreeze. When heating a driveway area, we recommend that trace heating cables are installed into the drainage channels to ensure complete clearance.

Installation methods

There are a number of different installation methods, although all of them involve fixing down outdoor heating cable to Heat Fix metal bands or zip-tying it onto reinforcement mesh. A rough overview of the three most popular installation methods is detailed below; please contact Heat Mat technical support for more details.

Asphalt

Hot asphalt can be poured directly on top of our driveway heating cables, which offers a huge advantage over conventional systems. The base layer that the cables are going to be placed onto should be firm, level and should not contain any sharp elements which could damage the cable. A flexible wire mesh should be placed in 1.2m strips across the area to be heated, with 2m between each strip. The cables can then be cable-tied onto the mesh at the appropriate spacing. The coldtail connection and coldtail lead are not designed to come into direct contact with hot asphalt so these should be covered with tile adhesive, cement or cold asphalt ahead of covering the main area. Once the coldtail connection and coldtail lead are suitably protected, a minimum depth of 50mm of hot asphalt can be poured on top of the remainder of the system and hand-compacted if required. If a resin finish is desired this can be laid once the asphalt has cooled.

Block paving

Care must be taken not to drop any paving slabs onto the cable during installation as these could damage the heating system. The normal method of installation would be to level the current surface and lay a 60mm layer of sand/grit then compact this as required. A flexible 1.2m wide wire mesh is then laid on top, with 2m between each run, and the heating cables are cable-tied in place. A further 40-50mm layer of sand/grit is then laid on top of the cables and this layer is compacted by hand to ensure no damage. Block paving can then be laid; to achieve the greatest benefit from the heating system, blocks should be no more than 80mm thick.

Concrete

Heating cables are often installed into concrete bases as concrete is particularly prone to damage from rock salt and freeze/thaw activity. The standard installation method would be to level the existing base and place a reinforcement fabric or rebar grid onto this layer. The grid should be raised at least 10mm above the base layer to allow total encapsulation of the cable by the concrete. The cables should be cable-tied in place on the grid at the appropriate spacing. There is no need to provide any additional protection to the coldtail connection or coldtail itself. The concrete can now be poured and it should form a layer with a minimum depth of 50mm; the concrete mix must not include sharp aggregate as this could damage the cables.