I'm gonna be attempting to turn cuttings into trees. I see some people talking about using these heating mats. Are they necessary? Do I need to buy lights or can I put them in a sunny indoor spot next to a window or something.

What success rate would you like (0-100%)
How much money do you want to spend?

My cuttings success went up quite considerably after purchasing a heat mat. It is well worth it IMO. Christy

honest truth is you don't need any of those. no grow light, no heat mat. if you have a place in the house that can reach constand 80 degree temp, and a south facing window, you can get the cuttings gong until the spring comes. 

Yes, before I started to use a heat mat, I used to use the top of my refrigerator. I do not use lights until after they have rooted and leaf out.

Yeah I really don't have a spot that'll hit 80 degrees in my house. I obviously want these cutting to make it since they aren't cheap so if that means getting a heating mat that's ok. Where is a good place to get one? I'm not looking to spend a lot and I don't need the BMW of heating pads

The top of my fridge doesn't get warm like I've had older fridges do in the past.

try top of computer if you leave your computer on most of the day. 

If you go to Home Depot, they usually have a "kit" that comes with a 72 cell flat, tray, and heatmat for about $32 (i think it is Jiffy brand)I will say though, If you get a mat online, spend the extra couple of bucks on a Hydrofarm mat. I was like you and thought I did not need the Cadillac of heat mats, so I bought a cheaper brand. I was using it in my greenhouse to keep my citrus roots warm, out of nowhere, I saw it start smoking and burning up the plastic! I quickly unplugged it. Now, thank goodness I was there, because it was just about to catch fire and if I was not out there at the time, my greenhouse would of caught fire, I only used it for 2 weeks.
Btw, that brand was called Root Genius. Amazon took care of the refund, however, I tried to email the company several times to just let them know what happened, and I never got a responce. So I would stay away from that brand.

Has anyone put plastic bins over or near the floor registers? I incubated yogurt in a mason jar near one. It did not seem overly warm, but I did not measure the temperature of the yogurt.

I don't use a heat mat and my house stays in the low 70's in winter/fall and mid 70's in summer.  If using a heat mat, make sure it's on a thermostat so you don't cook the cuttings.  Also keep in mind, the more heat, the more chance of mold growing too, so keep a close eye.  I do my rooting around 70F to 72F.  Usually takes about 3 weeks.  Last year, I just set the Humidity bin in a west facing window and they did marvelous.

I'll probably use a light over the humidity bin this year.  Maybe I'll try a heat mat on a few just to see the difference.

james, you mean floor vent? if so i use that during summer to keep my wort cooled and my humidity bin near it to get temp up. 

They aren't necessary but can give more control and better results, IMO.

I have 4 sets of 2' x 4' with mats and grow lights, enough for me to start 480 cuttings at once, if I wanted (some space is for other plants, tomato starts, etc.).

My original mats were bought used, wish I had bought more of them.  Top quality.  Read reviews on Amazon, some complaints of some models of Hydrofarm as well, I believe.  The most recent Hydrofarm ones I bought were these and they seem pretty durable: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007WB5A4G/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use two of these thermostats, works well: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NZZG3S/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have 2 Enviro-Grow T5 lights but had too many troubles with units arriving with broken bulbs or diverted by UPS back to Amazon because of broken bulbs so I ended up now with http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003E776OO/ref=cm_cr_asin_lnk (ordered from 1000bulbs.com, item 960305 because they were less expensive at the time).  Good quality light and very well packaged.

It's a lot of money, so decide for yourself if it's worth it.  I think it will make the difference of some cuttings making it or not.

If you use a heat mat, make sure to water from the bottom (soak container maybe 1/4 of the ways in water).  Otherwise, you need to over-water the top to get water down to the bottom of your media.

there are a whole lot of post here on that. Try searching....

I've had allot of success using a heat mat. I had little or no success without one.
Search my posts if you like and you"ll see how I use the mat.

Rich is correct,

Forgot to say that everyday, I had an "air out" period for all my cuttings, and would open the lids up to let new air to circulate, and to remove any extra moisture, which is very important. My methods are not for someone who wants to " set it and forget it", lol!

I bought a heating mat off of eBay for $20 a couple weeks ago and it seems to be working pretty good so far.

Don't use a heat mat. I bought two 8sq foot mats for my 60 degree house. I tried newspaper, paper towels, sphagnum moss, and finally cups with gritty mix, all sealed in bins. The mats dried out the bottom of each potting substrate, quickly charring the new roots. I've had great success, and much more even root growth in completely dark bins in a room that ranges from 60 to 70 degrees. Slower? Yes. Less worry about dehydration? Heck yes.

Figfan203,
Heating mats are not necessary. but if used properly they can help in the rooting process. Artificial lighting is also not necessary if you have a sunny window available.

If you can maintain temperatures between 72 to 78 deg F without the mat, you can root cuttings successfully and quickly with any of the documented methods. Also lights are not needed in the rooting phase only in the growing phase.

If heating mats are used without a thermostat controller, they can over heat the cuttings very easily and kill them. The heating mats also increase the chances of dessication and mold growth due to the increased heat.

Personally, I root cuttings in a dark closet, then grow them out in front of a south facing window, successfully.
Good Luck.

By driving root growth with a heat mat you don't need to leave the cutting in the high temp and high humidity environment as long. Therefore there is less opportunity for mold to grow. So using a heat map DECREASES mold growth.

Rich,
I would agree that a heat mat will help to decrease rooting time if used properly (with a temperature controller or thermostat), but higher temperatures will always increase the chances of dessication and mold growth, especially if concentrated in a small area.

The main  thing to remember when rooting cuttings is to maintain the "optimal" temperature and humidity around the cuttings, regardless of the rooting method used, it will decrease the rooting time and increase rooting success rates.