I've had this for a while but we haven't had any snow or ice to speak of so I want able to test it until now. It came with 2 ports to connect to, only one is needed if you have just a single mat to connect to the power cord. Both ports have covers that screw on tightly so when not in use you can keep moisture or whatever out. This also included some stakes if you want to put this somewhere you can stake it in place - I just used on the concrete front steps of our house. They also sent a timer so you can set the time(s) you want this to run if you don't want it on all the time. I didn't use the timer, our power outlet is connected to a light switch. So i put this out on our steps after we got a mixture of freezing rain and a pile of sleet with a side of a dusting of snow, it took around 10 minutes for this mat to completely melt the ice mixture from the step, as soon as it has one step melted, I moved it to the next step & again it took about 10 minutes to melt everything under it. Pretty handy really! Didn't get super hot to the touch or anything, just barely warm but plenty warm to melt ice.The only issue with this is when you set it on anything that already has ice on it, the mat will slide right off if you step on it before the ice is melted. Otherwise though, I would highly recommend this - especially recommend if you get more snow and ice that we do, this would be really great not only for humans but for pets too if they have to navigate steps to get in & out of your house to do their business, particularly if they're older or disabled. Definitely recommend - do keep in mind though that you need 1 for each step/stair.