Although electricity prices are high, using heated mats to melt snow and ice around the house is completely possible without the cost being too high.
Heated mats with integrated heating cables are a smart and efficient way to melt snow. They are suitable for stairs, paths around the house, under the heat pump and other places where it is necessary to keep ice and snow away. They are also easy to install and connect, without the need for an electrician.
However, using electricity raises the question of whether it will be too expensive, especially now that electricity prices are at record high. We don’t think you should worry about that.
If we assume that you have five heating mats measuring 25×70 cm that keep the stairs ice-free and five mats measuring 60×90 cm that keep the footpath leading to the garage ice-free, the total power of the mats is 1550 watts. If you leave them running all day, this corresponds to a daily consumption of 37.2 kWh. It will cost you approx. 5 euros if we assume that the price of electricity is about 1.5 cents per kWh including public taxes.
You don’t use them very often!
However, it is highly unlikely that you will use the mats this way, as you will generally only need to use them for a few hours at a time. For example, snow must be melted on the stairs or in the entrance in the morning before going out and when coming home in the evening. The heated mats melt up to 6 cm of snow per hour. In other words, you’re not dependent on constant heating to keep your stairs and walkways clear of ice and snow. They can also melt relatively thick ice within a few hours if you place them on top of ice that has already formed.
Safe winter with a “green” product
Heated mats are much better than salt at removing ice, and last for years.
If we say you use the mats for seven hours a day, the price is just under 1.70 euros with an electricity price of 1.5 cents per kWh. To give you an idea of how many days you need to use them, we can take a closer look at the number of winter days per year. Data from the Meteorological Institute show that Oslo had an average of 96 winter days in the period 1991-2020. Tromsø had an average of 138 winter days during the same period. If you use the mats for seven hours on all winter days, it will therefore cost you approx. 1,600 NOK (160 euros) in Oslo and approx. In Tromsø 2300 NOK (230 Euro) if the electricity price is 1.5 kWh.
Not so bad if you can avoid shoveling snow on busy mornings, and the whole family can get safely down the stairs or into the garage? As electricity prices fall to more normal levels, snowmelt costs will naturally be even lower.
Smart controls make it easier
Instead of plugging and unplugging your appliance every day, you should use smart technology to reduce your electricity consumption, and therefore your ice and snow melting costs. In our range of accessories you can find, for example, Frostguard Control, which helps to ensure that frost protection takes place in an energy-efficient and economical way. This ensures that the heated mats do not switch on until the ambient temperature approaches freezing. The Frostguard Control is simply plugged into an external socket and connected to the heating mats.
Another solution is our Smart Outdoor Wifi socket. It plugs into an external socket, then connects to the house’s wireless network and allows you to control your heated mats from your phone. This of course includes the ability to turn them on and off, but more importantly, you can schedule the heating mats to automatically turn on and off at certain times of the day. This way, you always have full control over how long the mats stay at work.
The accompanying app can also monitor power consumption and introduce limits if you see that the consumption is getting too high. The Smart Outdoor Wifi socket works with voice control systems such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home.