According to a recent industry report, radiant heating sales in the third quarter of 2024 were largely driven by sales of specific snow melt cables.

WarmlyYours, a radiant heating manufacturer that specializes in radiant heating products like electric floor heating and snow melting systems, released their “Q3 2024 Industry Report” earlier this week. This report analyzes the sales of radiant heating products (by using WarmlyYours sales data as a proxy for the industry as a whole) within the wider context of the national housing and remodeling markets. One of the most surprising findings in the report was that 120V (up 69%) and the 208V (up 165.5%) snow melt cables were responsible for a significant portion of sales growth for the company in the third quarter of this year.

One of the most notable areas of change has to do with the types of projects incorporating 120V and 208V snow melt cables. So far in 2024, here are the most popular project types in order of sales volume: walkways, entries, ramps, and stairs. This shift is in line with several years of buildup for these types of projects as more and more elderly homeowners prepare to “age-in-place”. A snow melting system is of paramount importance to anyone concerned about stability on outdoor surfaces during the winter months as it will not only melt the snow but also be set up to continue running until the melted snow has evaporated.

“I don’t think there’s a product line in our pretty expansive portfolio that I’m prouder of than snow melting,” said Julia Billen, owner and president of WarmlyYour. “We’ve worked really hard as a company to make sure the public knows about snow melting. It’s not just about convenience, it’s about safety.”

Billen cited the fact that around 100 people die in the U.S. every winter while shoveling snow as one of the reasons she feels so strongly about advocating for snow melting systems.

“I love floor heating and towel warmers and I really do believe there is incredible meaning in improving people’s lives through comfort but, with snow melting, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say we’re potentially saving lives,” said Billen. “And that’s the kind of thing that makes it easy to go to work every morning.”

The growth for these product types is also instructive regarding which customer segments were growing during the same time period. Here are the customer segments, ordered by sales volume, that saw the biggest uptick in sales of 120V and 208V snow melt cables: trade (up 134.2%), dealers (up 260.3%), property management (up 313.5%), and Amazon (up 21.1%).

To read the report in full, click here.