Get the advantage on snow with a heated door mat, or a heated walkway or stair mat. It’s a great solution to preventing snow and ice from ruining your day.
If you live in the northeastern part of the United States you’ve probably grown to hate snow over the past week — especially if you live in the Boston area. Two blizzards have pummeled the area and after the final snow count was added up a new snowfall record has been set for Boston — a whopping 34.2 inches of snow in a seven day period.
A heated door mat is a simple but effective device that will make your walkways safer while saving you time from shoveling.
To give you a frame of reference to understand the significance of that number; the average annual snowfall for Boston is 47 inches.
Unfortunately there’s nothing we can do to stop a blizzard but we can make our lives easier once it hits the ground, like having heated door mats and heated driveway mats to prevent snow from piling up in the first place.
Knock snow out before it settles
Why shovel snow if you don’t have to? Imagine waking up in the morning after a snowfall and having a clear and safe pathway for you to walk on without having to lift a finger. Well, this is what electric heated mats do, they melt snow as it hits the ground. Just plug it in and leave it for the Winter and you’ll never have to worry about shoveling your walkway or stairs ever again.
As far as clearing deep snow from your driveway or sidewalk you’ll need something more heavy duty like a single-stage or a two-stage snow blower. Sometimes a snow shovel won’t be adequate and will actually do more harm to your back. A quality snow blower, such as the Snapper 922EXD, is quite easy to maneuver and navigate around your yard.
One of the big advantages with having heated electric mats is their ability to prevent ice from building up as well, so it’s not just for snow. The beauty of the HeatTrak stair and walkway heated mat system is that they’re designed to be modular and extend as far as you need. All you do is connect them to other compatible mats via their watertight connectors; allowing you to create a walkway with heated snow mats that fits your property. It’s a well-thought out design and it really works the way you expect it to.
Watch this comical video from HeatTrak:
Heated Door Mat
These HeatTrak mats are made with thermoplastic material and are created with convenience in mind, which means you can leave them outside and plugged in for the entire Winter. These electric heated mats are capable of melting snow at a consistent rate of 2 inches per hour. If you like the thought of having a clear doormat and safe walkways when it’s cold then you find these heated snow mats to be great to have around your home. But if you prefer shoveling snow then you’d be better off with a snow shovel.
HeatTrak HCM24-3 | Heated Door Mat
The HeatTrak HCM24-3 is an attractive looking heated door mat that will melt snow at 2 inches per hour. If you own a dog or a cat then they’ll always have a warm place to rest while they wait for you to let them in. It’s straightforward to use, just plug it into a standard outlet and it will do the rest.
You also have the option of plugging it into a thermostat (HeatTrak HR-Therm3550) that has a built-in sensor enabling the mat to automatically turn on or off depending on how cold it is, saving energy for you. Unfortunately the thermostat isn’t built in. You’ll have to buy it separately.
With the thermostat, the heated door mat only turns on when it’s colder than 35 °F (1.68 °C).
Be creative, obviously you can use it anywhere, like on your patio deck or outside your doghouse. If you want a heated snow mat for a walkway then you’ll want to consider the HeatTrak HR20-60 which is a modular electric mat for longer walking spaces, or the HeatTrak HR10-30 to clear you stairs. You’ll find details on that later in the article.
Works well on the majority of surfaces, such as: stone, concrete, asphalt, wood decks. Do not use this heated door mat on plastic or composite materials as the mat can act as an insulator and may stain or create burn marks.
Features:
- Heated door mat size: 24″ x 36″
- 120 volt. 1.8 Amps. 220 Watts.
- Ribbed carpet gives it a luxurious look.
- Will melt 2″ of snow every hour.
- Built to be left outside and plugged in all season.
- Comes with a power unit with 6-foot cord, with a built-in circuit breaker.
HeatTrak HR10-30| Heated Snow Melting Stair Mat
The HeatTrak HR10-30 is a 10″ x 30″ heated mat that can be connected and configured anyway you want to fit your particular stairs. You can also connect these stair mats to the walkway mats, giving you a wide range of possibilities for your home.
You will need to buy a HeatTrak Power Unit for this to work, it doesn’t come with it so you’ll have to order it separately. Each power unit can power up to 13 amps on a single power unit. To give you a frame of reference, each HeatTrak HR10-30 mat uses .7 amps, which means you can power 18 mats with one power unit.
Do not cover the mats. Do not use indoors or inside your dog house.
Learn more by reading the HeatTrak guide.
Features:
- Mat size is 10 x 30 inches.
- Can be extended by connection to additional heated electric mats.
- Made from thermoplastic material.
- Able to melt 2″ of snow per hour.
- Requires the HeatTrak HR-P 120-volt power unit. (sold separately)
HeatTrak HR20-60 | Residential Heated Walkway Mat
The HeatTrak HR20-60 Residential Heated Walkway Mat is 20″ x 5 feet. You can either use it as a stand-alone mat or connect it to other walkway or stair mats. The modular design is convenient and easy to customize to your needs. I love when companies think about their customers. Everyone has a different yard so it makes sense to create a modular design.
All the mats have watertight connectors making it safe to leave outside all-year-round. You’ll have to purchase a separate GFCI 120-volt power unit as they don’t actually come with the mats. It seems strange to me that you have to buy the power unit separate but that’s just the way it is.
For each power unit you can power 5 walkway mats which will cover a 25 foot walkway.
Learn more by reading the HeatTrak guide.
Here’s a great video that shows you how the heated walkway mats work:
Features:
- Size: 20″ x 60 inches (20 inches x 5 feet).
- 2.5 Amps. 300 Watts.
- Can be used on its own or connected to other stair or walkway mats.
- Made from thermoplastic material.
- Melts 2″ of snow every hour.
- Requires 120-volt power unit (sold separately).
Conclusion for Heated Snow Mats
Whether you need a heated door mat, or heated walkway mats or electric stair mats is really up to you. I know that a lot of people enjoy the convenience and versatility of these mats. It allows you get ahead of the snow and prevent it from accumulating at your doorstep, walkways and stairs.
If you live in a snowy region then you’ll probably appreciate the time they’ll save you, but more importantly, they provide you and your family a safe walkway to traverse around your home. I think preventing ice build-up is an overlooked aspect of these heated mats. At least you can see snow and it’s typically not that slippery but falling on ice is dangerous, and for that reason alone I highly recommend these HeatTrak products.
These heated mats may save you from a hurtful fall as well as save you time and frustration, and for those reasons, I think these mats are well worth the cost. What do you think? Let us know what your experiences are with these HeatTrak mats. Contact us.