Heated roof and gutters: heating cable installation

Winter is not only beautiful landscapes and the game of snowballs, but also additional difficulties. Most of them, in one way or another, are connected with the heating of the dwelling. Effective house insulation will save a lot of money on heating and make living much more comfortable. But this is not the only thing worth taking care of.

In winter, quite often you will notice that huge icicles hang from the roofs of many buildings. This is quite a common phenomenon that conceals a significant danger, because over time, these huge ice blocks break down, and, falling, can cause harm to equipment or people below. In addition, a thick layer of snow creates an additional load on the roof, and can damage it. In order to minimize the risk of such situations, it is necessary to ensure effective heating of the roof and gutters using a heating cable.

Reasons for the formation of ice

What factors influence the appearance of icing? The fact is that as soon as the air temperature on the roof acquires a positive value, the snow begins to melt and, turning into water, flows to the edge of the roof, almost immediately freezing, since outside it the temperature is below zero. This is the reason for the formation of icicles and the accumulation of ice in drains.

Another reason for the icing of roofing elements can be the use of an attic as a residential, heated room. In this case, the temperature inside the attic space is almost the same as in the house. As a result, the roof is heated sufficiently to melt the bottom of the snow. Leaving a warm place, the water freezes outside.

Whatever the reason, measures must be taken.

Required materials

It should be noted that additional heating measures require not only metal roofs (metal tile, decking, etc.), but all the others, because a similar problem can happen to the roof of all the materials available today.

Any work can be done both independently and with the involvement of specialists - the decision is made by the owner of the house. In principle, the installation process itself is not too complicated from the technical side, but the problem is that the heating of the roof, as well as the gutters, is carried out using special cables, and their length and resistance are directly dependent, which requires fairly complex calculations.

Note! In order to avoid the occurrence of abnormal situations and better results, calculations are best left to professionals.

Since there are several types of heating cables, we will discuss the features of each of them.

Resistive

As a first material suitable for carrying out heating work, mention may be made of a resistive heating element consisting of a conductor and insulation. The principle of its operation is based on the fact that the heating core has a rather high resistance, as a result, when an electric current passes through it, the cable itself is heated to the point that it is able to melt the ice around it.

Note! The dependencies between the resistance of the material, the length and temperature of the heating wire are stable, which allows them to be calculated in advance, so that the element is heated enough to melt the snow, but not melted insulation.

As the undoubted advantages of using a resistive cable, it is possible to note the simplicity of working with it and high reliability. Such a system is a closed circuit. Everything is calculated in advance by professionals and it remains only to fix the wire in the right places.

Note! The length of the resistive cable can not be changed independently.

It is also worth adding that during the operation of the resistive cable the heating occurs all the time and with a constant value. That is, if you mount such a system, then there will be two main modes (on / off), which means that you will need to constantly monitor, you need to turn on the system, or it is not required. In principle, this is not so difficult, but the constant lack of time that accompanies present life can make adjustments. True, you can automate the operation of the system by installing a thermostat, but this will require additional costs.

Self regulated

Another material used in roofing works is a self-regulating heater. Its device is somewhat more complicated than that of the previous analogue, since it also includes a special heating sheath, and also (for everything to work smoothly) the installation of various sensors and distributors is required.

Self-regulating cable (unlike resistive) consists of several braids. All this, in combination with temperature sensors and special regulators, makes possible the independent functioning of the system. Such heating will be turned on when necessary and off if not needed. This will not only prolong the life of the device, but also have a positive impact in terms of energy savings.

Assembly work

When installing heaters for roofing elements, rather complex calculations are required, with regard to cable length and resistance, which are best left to experts. But the installation of the system itself can be done by yourself. For these purposes, special attachment hooks are usually used, by which the conductor is attached to the roof. This is done, as a rule, in the lower part of the roof, because it is in this place that icing occurs most often. The conductor is laid in a wave-like manner around the perimeter of the roof and is fixed.

Note! Installation of heating elements in the gutters is best done before fixing them, but you can and after, but it is less convenient. The heating element is placed inside the drain and is fixed in fasteners at the top and bottom. If the structure is collapsible, it is recommended to disconnect the pipes for convenience.

It is also necessary to add that the installation of self-regulating heating of the roof implies the installation of temperature sensors and a rather complicated regulation system, therefore it is better to turn to professionals for the highest quality work.

In conclusion, it can be added that the installation of the roof heating system is quite simple from the technical side of the question, but it requires attention and certain knowledge to perform the work correctly.

Video

This animated video shows how to install the heating cable on the roof and in the gutters:

This video will reveal the secrets of connecting a self-regulating heating cable: