I use a heat panel in conjunction with heat tape. Both on the hot side. All my heating devices are controlled with Herpstat thermostats. I think it really matters where you live. I live in Alberta, Canada and the winters here get cold. Heat tape doesn't do much for ambient temps so I have no choice but to heat the objects in my enclosure with the heat panel which heats the air. If i had a dedicated snake room that I could heat to the proper temp for ball pythons I would ditch the heat panels and just use heat tape.

Unless your house stays at a consisnt 75-80 degrees all year or you have a dedicated snake room you can heat separately I think a RDP is needed with heat tape. This is what worked for me.