Now that we have a rough idea of how much cable we're going to use on our theoretical house, we can consider how much energy it will use.ĭepending on the brand and thickness of the cables, de-icing cables use around 5-8W of power per foot of cable. Calculating the Cost of Running De-Icing Cables Some people choose to only apply the cable to the portion of the roof that gets the least sun or has the worst problem with ice dams, so feel free to adjust your calculations to include everything from the whole roof edge around the entire home to just the part by the back door that gets very little sun in the winter. Add in four downspouts that are 12 feet off the ground with a 6-foot run at the bottom, and you have an additional 72 feet for a total of 352 feet of cable. If you want to plan out a de-icing system more precisely than just a rough estimate, we'd recommend checking out this guide to planning and installing your de-icing cable system from Frost King and this well-written guide from King Electric.įor example, let's say that you have 100 feet of roofline with a 1-foot overhang (so you'll need 100 ft. At minimum you'll need at least as many feet as you have downspout but many people double the wire to ensure enough heat to keep it flowing freely (especially if the downspout leads into a drain run buried beneath the yard). You also have to account for the downspouts, as it does you no good to melt the water on the roof only to have it freeze solid in the downspout carrying it away from your home. A home with deep 2-foot eaves will need around twice as much cable as a home with no eave overhang. But for every extra foot of the eave overhang, you should add another 1.8 feet or so to the total cable length.
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