Posted on 02/07/2022 2:10:22 AM PST by Jonty30
I was doing some research into finding ideas to passively heat sidewalks, to help keep them free of snow and ice and reducing the amount of work to do it.
I came across an article from MIT, that I can't find at the moment, but they took an aluminum mat and sprayed it thoroughly with the blackest paint they could buy and they found that everything under it heats up three times faster under it.
So, I was thinking that you could probably do the same thing with your cement steps. Clean them thoroughly and then spray them down with the blackest paint you could buy and then clear coat to protect the paint.
It might save you many hours of shoveling the sidewalk at the beginning and end of winter.
move to Florida haven;t had snow for over 40 years now.
Buy bricks and concrete from Florida. They stay snow-free.
Don't use either if you got a cheap-assed skim coat put on your concrete driveway to cover up the old salt-eaten rough driveway.
sunlight penetrates snow... it is a miraculous thing... like it was planned that way.
just make the concrete darker and save on painting and clear coating...
bam.
If the snow is that fluffy stuff, I like to use a leaf blower, on the sidewalk, patio, and car.
Or, make your sidewalk out of asphalt!
Only kidding. One warning: I’ve read stories of people who implant wiring under their driveway that can be turned on by a switch from the house to melt the snow or ice off of it—but trouble arose after the car owner returned to the house and turned off the heater—neighboring dogs lay down on the still-warm concrete, froze to the pavement and either started howling at night, or actually froze to death there.
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