We live in the midwest and we have some crazy snowfalls and arctic winter temperatures. Our biggest concern is keeping the top stoop of our stairs by our front door cleared for packages, mail, taking the dog out and walking safety of anyone on our front stoop. Ice melt works great but it's expensive, tracks into the house and isn't that safe for pets. We came across this snow melting mat and boy are we happy. Very heavy duty, reflective to see at night, very rugged for anti slip, has a long 10' all weather power cable and very easy to hook up. The included timer is okay but I'm currently using my timer that is very heavy duty. Doesn't take long to start melting snow and we are very happy to find this alternative for this winter. If you live in a climate with some harsh winters I would recommend this mat.