Gutter heaters don t prevent ice dams.
Do gutter heaters work.
What gutter heating tape does for your gutters and roof.
Heat tape is a protected electrical cord that when used in gutters and pipes can stop them from freezing also known as gutter heat cables or gutter heaters heat tape helps to prevent ice dams from forming.
Heat cables work best when installed inside of the gutter.
Before the melted snow runs off the roof however it refreezes right near the edge over the eaves.
Warmed by heat rising up from below accumulated snow on the roof begins to melt.
How to choose a heated gutter system.
The least expensive way to go is a very simple system where a heat cable is applied to your gutters and then is run down the downspouts of your home preferably near an outlet.
To simplify comparisons calculate the cost of each cable per foot.
As you can see ice dams are an internal heat loss problem.
Which system do you chose.
If you are experiencing ice dams it may be a ventilation and insulation issue within your home.
Once even a thin layer of ice is frozen over the covers the water has nowhere to go but continues to freeze into multiple layers of ice until a huge ice dam forms.
Heat tape or heating tape is another name for a heated electrical cord that runs through your gutters.
Heat cables for roofs and gutters have widely varying price points primarily depending on the length of the cable.
This isn t always possible on long gutter runs because the gutters need to be pitched so the water flows to the downspouts which means one end will need to be hung high.
Gutter heating systems prevent roof damage during the winter months.
This method combined with gutter guards works great because when you put the gutter guard on it traps all the heat inside allowing the whole system to stay warm.
When heat cables are installed on the roof s edge a few additional challenges are created and the same problem remains that when the melted snow hits the cold gutter it will likely refreeze and build on top of your gutter.
Therefore when snow on the roof starts to melt it will hit a warm gutter guard and a warm gutter allowing your gutters to only deal with water and not ice.
Homeowners may think that zig zag cables on the roof and heated gutters are effective at preventing ice dams however this is not the case.
On the contrary having gutter covers can work in the opposite way of a home with gutter heaters since the gutters do not need to completely fill with ice to cause an ice dam.
If you live in a warmer climate like san antonio gutter heat tape is an easy solution to frozen gutters that can also increase the gutters lifespan.
This type of easy on gutter guard works only if the guard is installed at an angle that s similar to the slope of the roof.
