Heated roof and gutters anti-icing systems, installation steps, step by step instructions, photos, video

The article provides information on the correct choice of a reliable heating system for the roof and drains for your home or cottage. After reading the article, you will get a lot of useful and important information, which will be useful in the construction process and will help to ask the right questions when ordering roof heating. in a construction company and be sure to make the right choice based on the advice and recommendations received in my article.

The heating of the roof and its function

Now this innovation is just coming into widespread use. Many people neglect works on roof de-icing, because they are afraid of unnecessary expenditure of electricity and money to create the system itself. However, it is worth considering that this approach may lead to an accelerated failure of the roofing pie. This will entail unscheduled repairs, and, consequently, extra financial costs. Let's see how roof heating protects the roof.

So, the use of this system allows you to get rid of systematic ice, which causes significant damage to the structure, breaking its waterproofing. By the way, you shouldn’t hope that timely cleaning will solve the problem. It will not cope with the entire amount of moisture accumulating on the roof and drains. In addition, when heating the roof, you get rid of falling icicles and snow, thereby increasing safety.

There are other ways to combat icing. For example, arrangement of a special attic ventilation system or roof treatment with de-icing emulsions. However, all these methods are imperfect, require constant financial costs and take a large amount of time from you, as well as lower the temperature inside the building. Therefore, the best option is to properly heat the roof.

What is the roof heating system

It is called different: snow melting system, heating system or anti-ice. Such a device consists of a large number of sensors, wires, executive and instrumentation, as well as heating elements. This complex prevents the formation of icing on the surface of the roof and does not allow excess snow to accumulate.

It is not necessary to heat the entire roof surface, therefore, for the installation of heaters certain places are chosen that are most susceptible to the accumulation of ice and snow, as well as places that can pass moisture inside the roofing pie. So the system must necessarily cover the edges of the slopes and the surface of the valley, as well as cover the entire length of the drains.

Important! The roof heating system must always be located below the snow guards. Firstly, this will allow not to spend too much electricity on heating the roof sections that do not require it. Secondly, the melting of the snow cap on the roof increases the thermal conductivity of the roofing pie, which leads to accelerated heat loss.

It is also convenient that the cables can be mounted even after construction is completed in any free time, because the system is most often located on the surface of the roofing material.

If the heating system of the roof of your house is done correctly and correctly, then you can forget about the snow falling from the roof. Another such device lightens the load on the rafter system, which contributes to greater durability of the roofing pie. Additionally, you get good drain protection. After all, there are frequent cases when it cracks from icy accumulated water inside.

By the way, the anti-icing system relieves the owners from regular manual cleaning of the roofing material.

On our website you can find contacts of construction companies that offer roofing services of any complexity. Directly to communicate with representatives, you can visit the exhibition of houses "Low-rise Country".

How does the roof heating system

work? Let's see what the main elements are part of the system and how they should be located.

The whole complex of heating equipment usually consists of three main components.

• The heating unit includes a network of single or double heating wires. Also at this point it is worth pointing out that a special film can be used as a heating element. It is important that the heating elements meet certain requirements. They must be adapted to sudden temperature changes as well as to power surges. Another system should be resistant to excess moisture.If you plan to walk on the roof, then resistance to mechanical damage is a mandatory requirement for the heating unit.

• The information and distribution unit is designed to control the transmission of electricity from the network to the heaters. This part of the system provides information in the form of sensor readings and feeds all the component parts of the anti-icing complex. Install all sensors and elements of this unit is better in places where moisture does not fall. For example, in the attic or under the overhang of the roof.

• The control unit includes temperature controllers, weather sensors, as well as devices that allow you to change the temperature of the roof and manually supply electricity. The variant with self-regulating control system is possible. There is no need to constantly regulate the work of the heating complex, and the necessary changes are entered automatically. In this case, the mini-computer makes decisions based on the readings of the weather sensors.

On our website you can find contacts of construction companies, who offer the service to complete the construction of unfinished houses. Directly to communicate with representatives, you can visit the exhibition of houses "Low-rise Country".

How to choose the right heating system

These systems differ primarily in the type of heating element. Options are possible using cable or film heaters. The second method has much in common with the "warm floor" system. An important difference is that the film must be located inside the roofing pie, because it is not designed for serious loads and is poorly adapted to mechanical damage. But the cable on the contrary, may be on the surface of the roofing material. But the wire can fit inside. This is usually used when constructing a heating system for flat roofs, as well as during the construction of high-rise buildings. For heating gutters and pipes used exclusively cable.

Characteristics of different types of heating elements:

• Self-regulating wire

This is a matrix with polymer insulation and two cores of wires inside. Also included is a metal sheath and an extra layer of insulating material. If it gets warmer outside, the number of conductive paths inside the matrix decreases and, as a result, the temperature of the heater decreases. The advantages of this type of heater are many. First, cable installation is quick and does not require much experience. Secondly, the matrix itself is resistant to overlaps and point heating, thanks to the system of self-regulation of temperature. Thirdly, such a cable can be used in conjunction with absolutely any roofing materials. An important advantage is that the system selects the optimum temperature and thus prevents the consumption of excess electricity. It is possible to install such heaters without the use of weather sensors, as well as with the help of a self-regulating cable it is possible to heat the drains.

• Resistive wire

Heating occurs due to conductor resistance. Such cable can be two-core and single-core. The insulation is made of a polymer layer, and on higher-quality models, a nichrome core is used. When installing such a cable, you need to pay attention to the fact that both the beginning and the end of each wire must necessarily converge at one point. There is one rather serious disadvantage of such a heating system: in the case of point damage, the entire anti-icing complex fails. Installation is inconvenient because the resistive cable cannot be cut. This method is suitable for heating large areas of the roof.

It might be interesting! In the article on the following link read about how to insulate the roof of a country house.

• Film heater

It is a flexible film with carbon-conductor cores. Heats such material with the entire surface, since the conductive strips are often located throughout the entire area of ​​the heater. It is very convenient to transport and store, because such a film is sold in small rolls. This material is fastened only under the roof covering, therefore it can be used only in the case of roof reconstruction or during construction. Installation of such a heater should be entrusted to experts. In the event of local damage, the heating system does not fail, but loses its effectiveness. In the process of repair, it is always possible to replace the damaged area of ​​the film heater.I would like to note that the film is very safe, it does not ignite spontaneously. Uniform surface heating provides good energy savings.

When choosing materials, you should pay attention to their cost. The most expensive is to use a film heater. A self-regulating cable costs a bit less, and the most cost-effective option is a resistive wire. But I would like to note that the heating of the roof with the use of self-regulating cable is more economical and in the future will give good benefits. Also note that the installation of anti-icing system on the surface of the roof is possible only in the presence of snow guard. Otherwise, the entire network will simply be torn off during heavy snowfall. Various improvements and options make the whole complex more expensive, but the choice is always yours. Remember that ordering the heating system for the roof should be based on the characteristics of your roof.

It can be interesting! In the article on The following link read about plastic roof gutters - views and features.

Installation of the roof heating system

First you need to figure out which zone of the roof requires heating. As already mentioned, this endovy, overhangs and places of accumulation of a large amount of snow and ice, as well as gutters. It is worth noting that the benefits of partial heating of the zones needing it are much lower than those of the roof heating in all problem areas. Once you have decided on the area that should be heated, you need to calculate the required amount of materials and purchase them.

So, after all the materials have been selected and purchased, you can proceed to the installation. Below you will find information on how to properly install the entire system.

It is recommended to trust a similar procedure to professionals with experience in roof heating.

The first step is to completely clean the entire surface of the roof, as well as drains from debris or leaves. Next is installed in the required places fastening tape. The next stage is the installation of the junction box. It is necessary to bring and fasten the “cold” end of the cable, previously threaded into the corrugated tube. After completing this procedure, you should lay out the cable inside the gutters, fixing it with the antennae of the fastening tape. Now you need to fix the wire inside the drain pipe. To do this, the cable is attached to the chain, for example, plastic ties, and the whole system is threaded into the pipe. After that it is necessary to fix the upper segment. The lower edge can be fixed using metal ties. Next, you need to expand the loop on the surface of the roof and fix them using band antenna. If the roof slopes are too steep, it is better to add plastic screeds. Now you can install weather sensors. They should be located on the north side of the building next to the junction box. The next step is to check the entire wiring system. The quality of the system can be determined by measuring the resistance in the circuit and comparing the readings with the data specified in the product passport. It remains only to fix inside the control panel. After installation, you need to measure the temperature of the system in order to compare it with the data entered by you.

The installation procedure for heating the roof, gutters and drains can be found by watching the video:

If the test showed the correct result, then the installation of the anti-icing system was performed correctly. In this case, you get a good reliable heating of the roof and gutters. Such a system will increase the life of the roof, as well as eliminate the inconvenience associated with the fall of icicles and snow from the overhangs.

It may be interesting! In the article on the following link read about the binder of the roof overhangs - the choice of materials and stages of work.

Conclusion

Proper selection and high-quality installation of the roof anti-icing system will avoid the problem of blocking the drainage channels and destroying the entire drainage system when snow melts from the roof. But the design and installation of roof heating is better to entrust to professionals, because otherwise you can get a system that consumes too much electricity or can not cope with their duties.