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Anyone have heat cable on your roof??
montanajoe
Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 58,091 ******
We had self regulating heat cable installed this year. Curious of average cost to run it?
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When the sun does come out, the ice melts away quickly but I like to direct the falling heavy stuff with my roof rake so the dogs are safe in the backyard.
I am curious about electric heat cable and will be watching this post with interest!
https://www.roofcalc.org/roof-heat-cable-calculator/
I have never paid any attention to the cost because I only plug mine in when it starts to snow
I have never paid any attention to the cost because I only plug mine in when it starts to snow
The heat cable advertised on Amazon doesn't appear to be listed by UL or any other testing lab. And, it got a lot of bad reviews from buyers. I'd look at the specs (& warranty) for any unit very carefully.
You need at least one 20A line for a heat cable, & most builders install 15A outside outlets.
I haven't researched these cables, so I don't know if the NEC or the Fire Code permit their use.
Neal
Nobody around here has a heat cable.
Snow and ice are two different problems though. We rarely get more than a foot of snow here in Oklahoma and it is easy to clear off. But, it seems every year or two we get a very thick layer of ice. So much so that vehicles outside freeze shut. A friend of mine had remote start installed for the sole purpose of being able to thaw out his vehicle enough to get into it after he got frozen out a few times.
These ice dams will thaw a little and re freeze. This will peel your roof right off the house and cause leaks.
There are numerous videos explaining when and why to use heat cable on your roof. They also show how to install the cable.
There are basically two types of cables: The hardware store DIYer style; is a 'constant' temp./constant energy draw heat tape. It is either on or off. Some have a built thermostat. These cables can not touch themselves or they will overheat and melt itself,short out. These cables usually last two seasons.
The other cable is 'self regulating'. It can touch/lay against itself without causing any problem at all. This cable is usually 'hard wired' in and controlled seasonally by manually turning a circuit break in the house. This cable self regulates how warm to get or not and is very efficient to run.
Our house is wired with all circuits at 20 amps. I had our electrician come out for a walk through of what I wanted for heat cable. Our electrician confirmed we have enough power coming into our panel to support more usage.
He added a new/separate breaker in the house main panel. That breaker supplies a new sub panel installed in the garage. The new sub panel has three separate 'dedicated' circuits of 20 amps each with the new GFCI breakers. The heat cable is ran on the roof in three separate circuits/zones.
We used the 'Raychem' self regulating cable. This cable is rated to last 12-15 years. (dam near life time warranty for me)
The heat cable is installed,in service and works great. It was a considerable investment for us but a whole lot less than a 30 thousand roof job,plus the water damage in attic and interior of house. Yes,we are happy with our investment.
But, we have not had the new system in use long enough yet to see an increase on the power bill. That is the question I ask, if anyone else has such cable as to tell me their cost to run it.
Back years ago before I retired, when I was working in a colder climate, my work vehicle sat outside so I kept a small ceramic heater in it with a timer on an extension cord. When I got home from work in the evenings I would just plug it up to the extension cord and by the time I got ready to go to work the next morning the heater would have been running 30 to 45 minutes before time for me to leave. It would be nice and warm and the windows were clear and dry.
A guy I used to work with had an old vehicle without working heat/air. He heated the bottom of a candle with a lighter then "glued" it to his cash right in front of him. When needed, he'd light it to defrost and/or defog his windshield.