How To Make Sure Your Heat Cable Is Working Properly
If you live in Park City or the surrounding area, you might have heat cable installed on your roof to help prevent ice dams and make your walkways safer.
Heat cable degrades over time though, and the condition of your heat cable will have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the system.
Making sure that your heat tape is ready for the winter is a great way to avoid unnecessary projects in the heart of winter.
Let’s take a look at how heat tape can be inspected to ensure that it is ready for winter.
HEAT TAPE VISUAL INSPECTION
One of the best indicators of your heat cables health is how it looks on your roof.
Checking the exterior jacket of a line of heat cable for cracks, penetrations, or kinks can give you a good indicator of your heat cables health.
You also want to check to see if any of your heat tape is dangling or has become unattached to your roof, this is generally an indicator that some damage has occurred.
Heat cable can last anywhere from 1 to 15 years, depending on the brand.
If you notice that your heat tape is starting to look worn or if you know that it has been on your roof for a while, it is a good idea to get it checked to make sure it is functioning properly.
HEAT TAPE MEG TEST
Although a visual inspection is a great way to identify potential problems, the best way to check that your heat cable is operating correctly is to have it Meg Tested.
Your heat cable works by sending electricity through a conductor that heat heats up due to the friction that is caused as a result of pumping electrons through it.
Healthy heat cable will allow electricity to flow at the heat cables optimum wattage.
A Meg Test allows us to check how much electricity is flowing through your heat cable and determine whether or not enough electricity is flowing for the heat tape to remain operational.
Meg tests are conducted on every circuit of heat tape installed on the house to pinpoint all possible problem areas. When a readout falls below the optimal operating range of your heat cables specifications, it is time to replace the cable.
Meg tests give you a definitive answer as to whether or not your heat cable is working correctly.
CONCLUSION
Many Utah homes utilize heat cable to help prevent snow and ice related roofing issues. To prevent unnecessary projects during the winter, visually inspecting your heat cable and having a meg test performed are a great way to ensure that your home is ready for the snow.
A visual inspection can give you insights to the age of your cable and can help with finding apparent issues, but a Meg Test is the best way to know whether your heat cable is operating how it should.