Easy Heat Roof Cables Review
If you’ve ever experienced ice damns that form on a roof’s edge you know how troublesome they can be and if you haven’t…consider yourself lucky and do everything you can to prevent them. Easy Heat Roof Cables do just that.
WHAT ARE ICE DAMNS
Ice damns occur when snow is allowed to pile up on flat or sloped roofs. Eventually, the snow will melt a bit of the snow which re-freezes at night. The ice build up prevents water from escaping into the gutter and when that happens you’re in trouble.
That water eventually needs some place to go and will seep through any crack and into your house. Water will spill into the ceiling, vents, light cans and can cause tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage to walls, ceilings, floors, cabinets not to mention cause mold.
EASY HEAT ROOF CABLES
One extremely effective and affordable way to prevent ice damns permanently every winter are with heated roof cables. After researching, we found Easy Heat Roof Cables to be the best roof heat cables due to their ease of installation, cost, and effectiveness. The customer reviews are very good and they truly solve the problem.
WHAT ARE EASY HEAT ROOF CABLES?
Easy heat roof system is a cable about the width of the coaxial cable you’d connect to a cable box. The cable plugs into a grounded electric outlet. The electricity warms the cable which melts ice and allows water to flow into gutter instead of the house. They are available in lengths from 20ft – 400ft. After they are installed they can be left on the roof and gutters and will continue to work year after year.
INSTALLATION
Installation is surprisingly easy. Each cable system comes with clips that attach to the shingle at the gutter line. The cable gets clipped to that spot. Using a second clip is attached to a single about 18″ from the gutter and the cable gets clipped to that. A third clip is placed back at the gutter line about a 2 feet away from the first clip creating a U-Shaped or loop cable installation.
Customers have also reported running the cable in the gutter and down spouts its self, eliminating the need for the clips.
One Amazon Customer Writes:
“This seems like a pretty cheap precaution especially up here in NH. They provide you with plenty of clips to attached to the shingles and the process is very easy and is a DIY project if you don’t mind being on a ladder. It only took me about 30 min. to install the cable.”
MEASURING EASY HEAT ROOF CABLES
Easy heat recommends creating a 2-foot loop about 16″ apart. For instance, a 30′ length roof requires 60 feet of easy heat roof cable.
If you want to add cable to the gutter that is another 30′ and if you do a double run through the gutter plan another 60′.
Then add the downspout, let’s say that another 15 adding another 15 ft. In total you would need a 135 feet of cable for a 30ft. length roof with a gutter and a downspout installation.
ELECTRICITY USAGE
If the easy heat cables are left on continuously consumption is about 5 watts per foot. 50 feet of cable uses 6 kWh per day or 180 kWh per month. At 20 cents per kWh, that costs $36 per month.
It is not recommended that the cables be left on continuously rather plugged in during snow events.
Easy Heat Roof De-Icer Control
Easy heat does offer a controller that cuts down on energy costs. It requires two conditions to be present
before it energizes roof deicing cable: cold temperatures (ON, 38-degree F; OFF, 48-degree F) and the presence of runoff water from the roof in contact with its sensor wire. If only one of the conditions exists, the control will not energize the cable.
Get 200 feet of cable and the De-icer control for under $200
PROS
- Truly eliminates ice damns
- Easy to install
- Available in several lengths
- No maintenance once installed
CONS
- Added electricity costs
- Not suitable for rubber flat roofs
BOTTOM LINE
Easy Heat Roof Cables are an excellent solution to a problem that affects millions of homeowners every year. For a small investment, the worry and headaches of ice damns can be eliminated. With easy one-time installation, the easy heat roof cables will perform as well as they do on day one for many years. That coupled with very good customer reviews makes easy heat roof cables our pick for elimating ice damns.
