When selecting a radiant infrared heater you must make sure it has a quartz lamp element when used for a snow melting application (not a quartz tube or metal sheath tubular element due to their higher mass). This is a sometimes misunderstood aspect of outdoor heating and some consumers miss that there is a distinction between the different types of infrared heaters out there in the market and the intended use for each.
It is best that you leave the calculation of the overall wattage or number of heaters needed for melting of your snow covered areas to one of our sales technicians. This is because every area is different and the parameters you must use to calculate for the correct heat output will vary from application to application. Please contact one of our qualified technicians when needing help determining correct wattage total, sizing, design style and number of heaters.
The Fostoria Multi-Mount (UL listed for completely exposed/unprotected outdoor applications) is frequently used for snow and ice melting. They have quartz lamp heaters which are less susceptible to heat loss from wind and they reach high temperatures. The quartz lamps have less mass to hold heat which can be lost to a rise in temperature of the air crossing it.
Solaira Alpha High Output Quartz Infrared Heater is also being used for outdoor snow melting.
Case study on Snow and Ice Melting with Infrared Heaters (prepared by Fostoria, showing a general comparison of using infrared or other types of systems.)