Spent $1,200 on a heated driveway system for my Fairbanks home last fall

It melted the snow great all winter but my electric bill jumped $300 a month and now I'm wondering if a snowblower and some shoveling would've been smarter, anyone else gone back and forth on this?

2 comments

2 Comments

burns.ruby22d ago

$300 a month extra hits hard. I live in North Pole and my neighbor got one of those systems. He loves it but his bills are crazy too. I stick with my old Ariens snowblower. Paid $600 for it used five years ago. Still starts on the first pull. Sure my back gets sore some mornings but I can't handle those electric spikes. Maybe you could use it just for the worst storms and shovel the rest? That might cut the cost down some.

sage_morgan7520d agoMost Upvoted

Read some article that said the newer electric models have better battery management now, but it's still mostly about how cold it gets. Up here in Fairbanks I dunno if that tech holds up at 40 below. Maybe it's just the heat trace on the roof eating power more than the system itself. I'd ask your neighbor to check his meter on a clear day with no snow.