Heated Driveway in Toronto
Prices for both systems on a Toronto driveway, the cost of each snowfall and the City's boulevard rule, with one call to book the quote visit.
In Toronto, an electric heated driveway costs about $8,000 to $24,000 installed for a single-car driveway of 400 sq ft. If the work crosses City property, Toronto requires a street work permit: apply at least eight weeks ahead.
What It Costs to Install
Installers across the GTA publish prices between $20 and $60 per sq ft for electric systems, while hydronic ones fall in the $40 to $95 per sq ft range, based on figures from Precision Landscaping and Action Home Services. With hydronic, a mix of hot water and glycol moves through pipes laid beneath the surface, and a gas boiler supplies the heat.
A typical single driveway measures about 400 sq ft, while a typical two-car driveway in the GTA comes in around 600 sq ft.
| Driveway | Electric system, installed | Hydronic system, installed |
|---|---|---|
| One-car (400 sq ft) | $8,000–$24,000 | $16,000–$38,000 |
| Two-car, about 600 sq ft | $12,000–$36,000 | $24,000–$57,000 |
Treat these figures as a guide rather than a quote. When the installer visits, they will confirm the exact price for your surface and its size.
Permits and City Rules
Whenever driveway work crosses City property, you need a street work permit. The City wants the application at least eight weeks in advance, and only a City-licensed paving contractor may do the paving.
The boulevard is the piece of City land that sits between your property line and the road. After the job, the owner must restore it, and your driveway cannot reach into the boulevard next door.
Electric systems bring their own paperwork for the wiring. A notification of work must be filed with the Electrical Safety Authority before electrical work begins.
The City asks for eight weeks' notice, so the sooner we look at your driveway, the sooner it can be ready for winter. Give us a call and we'll talk you through the permit and the timing.
What It Costs to Run
These running-cost estimates assume the system runs for 4 to 6 hours per snowfall. Between 1991 and 2020, Toronto Pearson saw an average of 114.5 cm of snow annually, with 44.7 days receiving 0.2 cm or more, and snowfalls of 5 cm or more came on 7.2 of those days.
With a hydronic system, each snowfall uses about $2 to $3 of gas for a single driveway, or $3 to $5 for a two-car driveway. For electric, the cost depends on your electricity plan and when the heat runs.
| Plan and timing | One-car (400 sq ft) | Two-car (600 sq ft) |
|---|---|---|
| Ultra-Low Overnight plan (11 p.m. to 7 a.m.) | $3–$4 | $4–$7 |
| Time-of-Use off-peak, nights, weekends and evenings | $7–$11 | $11–$16 |
| Tiered pricing, covering the first 1,000 kWh each month | $9–$13 | $13–$20 |
| Mid-peak Time-of-Use, weekdays from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. | $12–$18 | $18–$26 |
| On-peak Time-of-Use, weekday mornings 7–11 a.m. plus evenings 5–7 p.m. | $15–$23 | $23–$34 |
| Ultra-Low Overnight on-peak, weekdays 4 to 9 p.m. | $30–$45 | $45–$68 |
If you're on Ontario's Ultra-Low Overnight plan, melting snow overnight costs just a few dollars, but a weekday-evening storm is the most expensive time to run it. These electricity estimates use the winter rates the Ontario Energy Board has already set for November 1, 2026.
Smaller jobs are cheaper to run. A 100 sq ft electric walkway runs you roughly $0.46 per hour at off-peak rates, or about $0.95 per hour when rates are on-peak.
Electric or Hot Water?
Electric wins on installation cost, with a single driveway starting at about $8,000 versus $16,000 for hydronic. Hydronic costs more to put in but much less to run: about $0.57 an hour in gas for a single driveway, against about $1.82 an hour for electric at off-peak rates.
The right choice depends on your driveway's size, whether your electrical panel can handle the load, whether you have a gas line, and how many winters you plan to stay. Call today to discuss your Toronto driveway before setting an installation date, since work that crosses City property needs a permit application at least eight weeks ahead.