Heater In Attic To Melt Snow

Install heat cables to melt the snow at the edge of the roof.

Heater in attic to melt snow.

You ll need adequate insulation in the attic and effective sealing of all gaps between the heated portions of your home and the attic i e. That wouldn t be my first choice if you use an oil filled heater that would be better than an electric grid heater better yet if your heating and ac system has duct work or flex duct install a vent in the run that way you can control the amount of heat that is used but you know its gonna have to get kinda warm up there to melt snow through decking and what ever your roof is covered with. If it s too shallow or exposed it could overheat and fail. Once this thick ice forms it prevents melting snow from running off the roof.

Advantages of installing heat cables. The same is true of the spacing of the heating cable. Hire a professional to insulate the floor of the attic and install air ventilation. Attic door ceiling lights.

If it s too deep it won t be able to effectively melt snow or ice. The key to a successful snow melting system is in how it s embedded. Keep the temperature of the space under your roof cold i e. And the electric bills from the heaters would likely give you a heart attack so then there would be medical bills.

It is specifically designed to help prevent the ice dam issue. The snow is a great insulator so it would do its best to hold the heat inside of your attic space. And the extra heat is not just a summer concern come winter hot attic air can melt snow on the roof during the day only to refreeze when temperatures drop overnight creating ice dams that lead. Over the other units enough heat escapes into the attics to melt most of the snow.

In cold climates that leads to ice dams. Over that third unit from the left there s little heat getting into the attic as evidenced by the unmelted snow. The difference between this photo and the first is that the garage is unheated so there s just not much. Keep it close to the temperature outside so little or no heat is transferred to the roof where it can melt the snow.

Make your attic the same temperature as the outdoors if you have one. Just mocking your attempts to melt it. If heat cables are correctly and professionally installed they can be very useful in minimizing water buildup behind ice dams. Make sure your heating element is 2 3 from the final surface.

Heat cables are a much cheaper solution than fixing the source of the problem by sealing air leaks in the attic installing adequate insulation and creating proper ventilation. This can be done by making sure there s proper insulation and air ventilation in the attic to keep it the right temperature.