Many people do just have one set of rims and have a tire shop swap them out. In that case they wouldn’t have to charge the sensors, but you need to pay someone with a tire machine every time then. I have 2 full sets of wheels so that means I can change them out myself at home, which is particularly useful if there’s ever a surprise early snowstorm or I’ve been procrastinating swapping them.

Having proper snow tires with their soft rubber and special tread pattern definitely makes a huge difference in cold-weather traction. Even if the road is dry but below freezing, a winter tire will handle a bit better because a summer tire’s rubber is designed for higher temperatures and will go stiff in the cold. The tread pattern is designed to have snow pack in and stick to it, since snow sliding on snow is actually higher friction than rubber on snow. With the right tires you’ll bottom out your car in the snow before you get stuck from loss of traction. Pure ice is a bit of a different story. The only real solution for that is tires with metal studs in them, but they’re illegal to use on the public roads in the city because they tear up the asphalt.