Still, the differences between radiant floor heating and snowmelting go far beyond whether the tubing is inside or outside a building. Failure to recognize key design concepts associated with snowmelting can lead to very disappointing results and costly corrections. This month we'll discuss a few strategies that I think are important in designing successful snowmelting installations.
The idea is to melt the snow and ice and then allow most of the water to drain away rather than evaporate or refreeze. Changing snow into water requires about 144 Btu/pound. Assuming a 6-inch-thick layer of newly fallen snow with a density of about 10 percent water, a system would need to provide 448 Btu/sq. ft. of pavement to fully melt that snow into water at 32 degrees F.