Heater In Attic To Melt Snow

Hire a professional to insulate the floor of the attic and install air ventilation.

Heater in attic to melt snow.

Attic door ceiling lights. Advantages of installing heat cables. Keep the temperature of the space under your roof cold i e. The same is true of the spacing of the heating cable.

The snow is a great insulator so it would do its best to hold the heat inside of your attic space. Last week s polar vortex forced you to blast the heat in the house but without proper insulation that heat could have been trapped in your attic potentially leaving you with a roof ice dam. Keep it close to the temperature outside so little or no heat is transferred to the roof where it can melt the snow. 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. This can be done by making sure there s proper insulation and air ventilation in the attic to keep it the right temperature. 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. Install heat cables to melt the snow at the edge of the roof.

Over that third unit from the left there s little heat getting into the attic as evidenced by the unmelted snow. The key to a successful snow melting system is in how it s embedded. If it s too deep it won t be able to effectively melt snow or ice. If it s too shallow or exposed it could overheat and fail.

If heat cables are correctly and professionally installed they can be very useful in minimizing water buildup behind ice dams. In cold climates that leads to ice dams. Make your attic the same temperature as the outdoors if you have one. 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.

Once this thick ice forms it prevents melting snow from running off the roof. Make sure your heating element is 2 3 from the final surface. Over the other units enough heat escapes into the attics to melt most of the snow. Just mocking your attempts to melt it.

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. The difference between this photo and the first is that the garage is unheated so there s just not much.