Roof Ice Melt Cable Installation

In this video master electrician for ask this old house scott caron helps a homeowner install heat cables on his roof to stop ice dams.

Roof ice melt cable installation.

This is an important distinction. Each de icing cable set includes cable. Five watts per foot. Roof and gutter de icing cables prevent ice from sticking around during sub zero temperatures.

Constructed with three wires per cable. Heavy duty weather resistance pvc outer jacket to survive the elements. However it may run into frozen snow and ice inside the gutter or on the eave which doesn t receive heat transferred from the living area. The cables don t totally clear patches of snow but rather melt the ice immediately around them providing enough space for water to run off into your gutter.

This allows ice to melt and move from your rooftop shingles to your gutters. The term heat tape refers to another product an insulated electrical wire applied to water pipes to keep them from freezing and bursting. That water flow reduces the likelihood of roof leaks and shingle damage from hard packed snow and ice dams. Heat tape metal roofs.

Simple to install they offer safe reliable snow melting throughout the winter months for driveways sidewalks patios and stairs. A typical 120 foot long roof edge with 6 12 overhangs and no gutters deicing will need about 291 feet of cable. Warm tiles dmc cables. Sep 13 2016 read more.

Heat cables can be installed to minimize ice formation and retention on roofs with them you can prevent a lot of damage to your roof that can result from the buildup of ice dams. Secure shingle clips to roof shingles using a flathead screwdriver making sure to align them in a zigzag pattern. While it may seem like the perfect solution to ice dam formation heat cables come with quite a few disadvantages as well. As mentioned above you will use about 8w per linear foot of ice melting cable.

Ice dams may still form but they won t block the flow of additional snow melt and that s what protects your roof. Unique heat tape cable systems for the roof valley and the roof flashing on metal roofs. As snow is warmed by the rising heat inside your home and melts on portions of the roof that are directly above your living area the melt runs down the slanted roof. A ready to use roof and gutter de icing cable kit with the appropriate number of roof clips and cable spacers.

Clip in the cable along the same zigzag pattern as the shingle clips. Heat cable ul listed to prevent ice dams. Heat cable is a similar product but it is designed for installation on the edge of your home s roof near the eaves. Install with the roof sentry rs2 control system.

That equals to 2 3kwh per hour or almost 56kwh per day of continuous operation.