De-icing of the roof - hidden heating system

de-icing of the roof - the types

systems Apart from the damaging effects of ice on the truss system formed icicles at home pose a direct threat to people are on the streets and cars.It is much easier to prevent icing of the roof, than then shoot down the ice with crowbars, at the risk of damaging the roof.And the only effective step in this direction is an artificial heating of the roof.

roof de-icing system according to its design - an extremely simple engineering solution.The basis of it consists of electric heating cables in places most likely ice from around the structures of projections on the edges of the roof, in the valleys and along the drainage system.

There are two types of heating cables: resistive and self-regulating.The first consists of a metal wire, insulation with copper braid and sheath.Cables are one- and two-wire, the latter being more convenient to install and reliable in operation, though some are more expensive.

With the entire length of the same resistance, they also uniformly throughout the length and emit heat by passing electric current through them.In case of contact with the cable of the dense layer of fallen leaves, dirt or other cable segment in this area disrupted the normal heat sink, wire overheats and there is a threat to his burnout.

For this reason, the cable resistance is most commonly used with complex automation, shuts down the system in case of overheating.Structurally, the cable sections is made in the form of a certain length, which creates inconvenience when designing and building roofs irregular configuration.The service life of the cable resistance - 5 years.

self-regulating system, de-icing of the roof

In the case of a self-regulating cable, heat is produced polymer semiconductor matrix, located between the two conductive wires.The basis of the action laid cable matrix property to increase its resistance as the temperature increases.

That is, by heating the matrix to a certain value and its resistance increases, while the amperage is reduced accordingly, which lowers the temperature of the matrix.And this in turn - to a decrease in resistance.The current intensity begins to rise again, and the temperature increases again.The process of self-regulating, which gave the name of the cable.

self-regulating cable is a continuous strip which is easy to cut to the required length.The flat section of the cable ensures close contact with the roof surface, which contributes to more efficient use of heat.The service life of the self-regulating cable - 20 years.

nuances of the installation of the roof system

Icing can be controlled both manually and automatically.Of course, automation is more comfortable and allows the inclusion of the system without the intervention of the hosts, which is very convenient in a country house or at night.Heating cables have not only on the roof, but also for the main drains.If they go directly into storm sewers, the cable is laid on the drain to the level of soil freezing.

installation of the heating cable depends on the roofing.Thus, the natural ceramic tiles do not require anti-icing system, because on the surface of ice is not seen.If the roof is metal, the cable before laying it is desirable to cover the special rubberized cloth.