Heating gutters and roofing with their own hands using a resistive and self-regulating cable

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The domestic climate is not very soft: in winter it is always necessary to encounter an abundance of snow precipitation and extremely low temperatures. Such atmospheric conditions do not pass without a trace for the roofs of houses suffering from significant masses of ice and snow. Accumulations of snow on the roof represent a real danger for humans: the collapse of the roof can lead to tragedy, as well as the breakdown of an accidental icicle.

In order to avoid these unpleasant consequences, experts recommend the heating of gutters with the help of special cables, oriented to the kindling of snow, not only in gutters, but also in the pipes themselves. Despite the high cost of the system, it fully justifies itself, preventing the snow masses from destroying the roof, and draining moisture to a safe distance for the basement. Practice shows that the cheapening of the system by laying cables exclusively over the gutters is ineffective and unacceptable, since moisture extraction can be disrupted due to a frozen pipe, or the ice will simply tear the pipe from the inside.

roof

Heating gutters can be used in several ways, based on the use of different types of cable. The installation of the system can be carried out on its own, but calculations and final adjustment should be entrusted to the experts in order to guarantee absolute safety.

Does heating need heating?

So why do you need to heat not only the roof, but also the gutters? The answer, in general, lies on the surface: preservation of the integrity and accuracy of the water drainage system is possible only if the water is completely removed from the roof. The heating electrical cable must be installed in the following places:

  • Water drain chutes;
  • Roofing cornices;
  • Funnels on the gutters;
  • The entire length of the downspouts;
  • Water collection trays and drains;
  • Joints of individual roofing elements.




The heating plan for the gutters must necessarily be related to the project, according to which the entire roof is heated, because separately their work will be completely useless. Systems that prevent the formation of ice sheets, mean the use of not only cable sections, but also temperature controllers, distributors, as well as the main console from which the system is controlled.

full-scheme-laying-and-fastening-system-heating

Features of heating

The heating scheme for drains and roofing depends on a mass of factors, among which I will note the following:

  • A type of heating cable;
  • Roof type;
  • Regional climatic features.

system

A warm roof can be called a lack of insulation, as it leads to the appearance of ice outgrowths. Even at significant negative temperatures such roofs contribute to the melting of snow, which causes water to reach the edge where it freezes. To prevent dangerous icicles, heating elements are laid along the edge by a heating method. Each loop has a width of 30-50 centimeters, and the specific system power can lie in the range from 200 to 250 watts per square.

A slightly different approach involves the organization of heating water and cold water roofs. The given roofs differ qualitative isolation, and also often means presence of an attic space with good ventilation. Such designs are quite suitable heating gutters, the linear power of which will be at around 20-30 W per meter. A gradual increase in power is also assumed, along with how the length of the pipe increases. Each cable must be connected to a special device, which allows to disconnect the system in an emergency order.

roofing

Among the features of waste water heating is also called the correctness of calculating the length and position of the cables. Consider the length of the valley, the total length of the pipes, and the total length of all the system elements.10-15 centimeters of the trough assume about 45 watts of power per meter. If the width of the gutter is 15 centimeters, then under standard weather conditions, the estimated power is 200 W per square.

Cable variations

resistive cable

Heating gutters can be based on the use of different types of cable, the laying of which can be done on its own after all the sections and parts of the system have been calculated. As a rule, self-regulating and resistive cables are used.

Distinctive feature of a resistive cable is low cost. His work is based on the fact that when the connection to the network, the vein begins to heat up. Heating on the basis of this method is extremely simple. The system is operated with minimal energy expenditure. The main advantages are:

  • Low price;
  • No need for starting current at start-up;
  • Constant power.
It should be noted that the latter property can become a tangible minus, because in different areas there may be a different need for thermal energy. If you decide to pull out a resistive cable by yourself, then it is laid either along pipes and gutters, or by wrapping these structures.

The best option is to mount a zone-type resistive cable that has a special heating thread based on nichrome. Pogonnaya power in this situation is completely independent of length, even cable cutting is allowed, if necessary.

self-regulating-cable

Using a self-regulating cable significantly increases the overall reliability of the system, but makes it much more expensive. The downside of the cable is also that it is only fit for a limited period, since its matrix eventually ages. The main advantage of the system lies in the fact that the cable is able to automatically change the resistance, allocating the ideal amount of heat.

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