Many people leave heat tapes in locations where they get hot in summer cold in winter and wet year round.
How hot does roof heat tape get.
Most heat tape is available on 120 v and 240 v versions with power ranging from 52 w to 3 135 w.
At any given point depending on the temperatures outside the cable could be a range of temperatures.
The type of heat tape used on roofs and gutters to prevent ice buildup is properly called heat cable.
First and foremost i t is very important to understand that heat cables do not prevent ice dams from forming or get rid of them altogether.
Heat tape is the product to use for applications where small cylindrical sections need high power densities which usually indicates high temperatures as well.
We ve put together this page and the articles that are linked here to try to answer any questions you might have so you can feel confident that you re getting the right cable and using it properly.
What kinds of ice dam heat tape exist.
How to install heat tape deicier cable on your roof for eaves and gutters and downspouts for snow and ice removal.
How to melt ice and snow on your eaves an.
For example you could go to home depot or lowes or amazon and get a pre assembled 120 roof heat tape for around 68 00.
The term heat tape refers to another product an insulated electrical wire applied to water pipes to keep them from freezing and bursting.
However its peak temperature is not very hot typically between 95º 110º.
As a result the wire insulation can develop cracks and let in moisture that causes a.
The rooftop temperature results from two different properties.
Heat cables also known as heat tape or roof ice cables are often the first things that come to mind for homeowners attempting to deal with ice dams.
Heat cable is a similar product but it is designed for installation on the edge of your home s roof near the eaves.
Heat tape for wrapping around pipes is flat and it must be installed with one of its surfaces completely in contact with the pipe to do its job.
Inside the category of ice dam heat tape and heat cable there is a wide variety of quality in terms of what one can purchase.
Common questions about heating cable and heating tape.
The heat cable you use on your roof which usually comes with clips to attach it to the shingles is rounded to expose more of its surface area to the surroundings.
The ability of the material to reflect the sun s energy back into the atmosphere called solar reflectance and the amount of heat the material rejects instead of absorbs called thermal emittance both are measured on a scale from 0 to 1 with higher scores translating into cooler roofs.
We get quite a few questions about heating cable here at o e m.
