one of the UK’s leading installers and suppliers of ice and snow melting systems.

Heated Driveway Systems

Heated Driveway Systems are one of the UK’s leading installers of ice and snow melting systems for driveways, ramps, roads, footpaths, and other outdoor areas. We offer our services nationwide.

One of UK’s leading installers

Heated Driveway Systems are one of the UK’s leading installers of ice and snow melting systems for driveways, ramps, pathways and other outdoor surfaces and offer our services nationwide.

Heating driveways for more than 20 years!

We have more than twenty years installation experience of these systems in both the UK and Scandinavia and offer bespoke cost effective systems on a supply or supply and installation basis.

High Quality Product Guarantee

Using only the best quality products to ensure longevity we are able to specify the perfect system for your requirements including thermostats and sensors to ensure energy efficiency and automatic operation.

Automatically heated surfaces

All our systems are designed to automatically keep surfaces free of dangerous ice, snow and frost whatever the weather.

HEATED DRIVEWAY QUOTE

Driveway, Ramp and Walkway heating or de-icing

Fully automated heating system

The robust heating wire systems are suitable to protect driveways, car parks, pathways, steps, loading ramps and bridges. When used in conjunction with intelligent thermostats they provide an energy efficient and fully automated heating system. Heated Driveway System’s Scandinavian designed Ice & Snow melting systems can be used beneath virtually any surface to ensure it remains free from dangerous ice and snow build-up. Custom made ice and snow melting thermostats monitor both the ground temperature and the moisture level to ensure that they only operate when they are really needed. The thermostats are fully programmable and can be set up for the specific local conditions as required. In addition to ensuring that driveways and walkways remain free of dangerous ice and snow build-up the heating systems also prevent the need to use salt to keep areas clear, minimising costs and also ensuring both the road surface and the surrounding environment are not damaged or contaminated by salt build-up.

Why install an HDS driveway de-icing system?

Improved safety

for vehicles and pedestrians as surfaces are automatically safe to drive and walk on

Automated clearance of ice and snow

ensuring that Health and Safety requirements can be met and that the first person on site does not have to make the area safe

Protection

Surfaces (particularly concrete) are not damaged by grit and salt, and are also protected from the normal freeze/thaw activity in winter

Specialist cables

Specialist cables for use with hot asphalt are available – ideal for use under tarmac drives, concrete or block paving

Protected from salt pollution

The surrounding ground and waterways are protected from salt pollution.

Minimal energy usage

A number of different sensors and timers can be combined to ensure that the system only operates when it is required, minimising energy usage.

Maintenance free

Once the system is installed there is no requirement for any maintenance work and some systems include an automatic alarm warning if the system fails, for whatever reason

A tried and trusted system

These systems have been used in Scandinavia for more than a decade and have proved their worth in extreme temperatures and weather conditions

Our Products

Our mats are made using our 10mm – 55w/sqm heating cable, that can be used under tarmac, mastic asphalt, concrete, block paving and paving stones.

Bespoke Heated Mats

Trace heating cables provide focused and controllable heat to prevent pipes and gutters from freezing, or to maintain process temperatures.

Heated Aco Drains

Outdoor heating cables can be installed in concrete, hot tarmac, or sand under block paving and slabs.

HDS Installation service

Heating cable designed for outdoor ice and snow melting. Built to endure harsh conditions on building sites under tarmac, asphalt, concrete, or paving.

HDS Ice and snow protection cable

An intelligent all-in-one solution for ice and snow melting for use in all applications within electrical heating.

More about our heated driveways

Choice of Output

For normal installations we recommend an output of between 250 and 300W/m2 which provides a good balance between speed of operation and power requirements. Often the limiting factor to the size of area which can be heated is the available power supply on site, and with restricted power supplies it is often possible to specify a lower powered system which will still clear the ice and snow. An alternative method is to zone the system so that the restricted power supply can heat zones sequentially, lowering the overall power requirement for the system.

Choice of Coverage

For most ramps, driveways and walkways the entire area would be heated to provide a uniform heat. In some circumstances, such as long driveways or where the power supply is restricted, it can be preferable to heat targeted areas. The most common example of this is to heat two tyre tracks on a ramp or driveway, or to heat a specific proportion of a pedestrian walkway.

Tyre track heating

Where a long driveway requires heating it is quite acceptable to simply heat two tyre tracks, leaving other areas unheated. This saves on the power requirements, and installation and running costs, and it allows longer driveways to be heated than would otherwise be possible.

Drainage channel heating

When heating a driveway or path area, it is vital to ensure that the water can safely run away and does not become pooled to then refreeze. When heating a driveway area, we recommend that trace heating cables are installed into the drainage channels to ensure complete clearance.

Installation methods

There are a number of different installation methods, although all of them involve fixing down outdoor heating cable to Heat Fix metal bands or zip-tying it onto reinforcement mesh. A rough overview of the three most popular installation methods is detailed below; please contact HDS technical support for more details.

Hot Asphalt and Resin

Hot asphalt can be poured directly on top of these cables which offers a huge advantage over conventional systems. The base layer that the cables are going to be placed onto should be firm, level and should not contain any sharp elements which could damage the cable. A flexible wire mesh should be placed in 1.2m strips across the area to be heated, with 2m between each strip. The cables can then be cable-tied onto the mesh at the appropriate spacing. The coldtail connection and coldtail lead are not designed to come into direct contact with hot asphalt so these should be covered with tile adhesive, cement or cold asphalt ahead of covering the main area. A minimum depth of 50mm of hot asphalt should be poured on top of the system and this can be compacted with a light roller if required. If a resin finish is desired this can be laid once the asphalt has cooled.

Block Paving

Care must be taken not to drop any paving slabs onto the cable during installation as these could damage the heating system. The normal method of installation would be to level the current surface and lay a 60mm layer of sand/grit then compact this as required. A flexible 1.2m wide wire mesh is then laid on top, with 2m between each run, and the heating cables are cable tied in place. A further 40-50mm layer of sand/grit is then laid on top of the cables and this layer is compacted by hand to ensure no damage. Block paving can then be laid; to achieve the greatest benefit from the heating system, blocks should be no more than 80mm thick.

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Featured Projects

From heated driveways, heated ramps to ice and snow melting projects please explore our featured projects below and more (select the ‘Explore More’ button).