Heat Tape PRO can be use with any gutter system made, be it open, closed, metal, plastic, vertical or horizontal. Heat Tape PRO will work throughout the winter to keep an ice free path open for water so it can escape and move away from your home.
Keep in mind that if your home has ice dams in addition to ice in your gutters, you will want to install Heat Tape PRO on your roof to address that problem as well. Heat Cable in the gutters alone will not manage problematic ice on the roof surface.
Installing our heat tape on your standing seam roof can be very effective in combating ice dam formation. There’s two main products used to install heat tape on your standing seam metal roof: The S-5 SR Heat Tape Clip, and the standard ice dam heat tape clip.
Installing Heat Tape on a Standing Seam Roof with the S-5 SR Heat Tape Clip
The S-5 Heat Tape Roof Clip is a new, patented roof clip design specifically for standing seam applications with a focus on ease of install and effectiveness. It is used in conjunction with the S-5 Base, which needs to be purchased separately. The S-5 base is designed to clamp onto the seam of a metal roof as the S-5 Clip holds your ice dam heat tape into position. Can be set up in a single or dual-clip configuration. (See product page for more info)
Installing Heat Tape on a Standing Seam Roof with Standard Roof Clips
There are specific ways/configurations used when installing heat tape on a standing seam / metal roof using standard heat tape clips. The following (2.6 – figure 16.0 & 17.0) shows a snippet of the HeatTape Pro installation manual showing two different clip configurations, more info can be found in the manual itself: Heat Tape Pro installation Manual
Every Length of Heat Tape Pro has a cord length of 10-feet that is not included in the listed/state length. Meaning: A 100-foot Heat Tape pro will have a 100 feet of heated cable + a 10-foot unheated power cord.
Every Length of Pipe Freeze Pro has a cord length of 3-feet (36″) that is not included in the listed/state length. Meaning: A 30-foot Heat Tape pro will have a 30 feet of heated cable + a 3-foot unheated power cord.
Pipe Freeze PRO can be overlapped during installation. This is a fundamental advantage of self-regulating heat cable over cheap, constant wattage cable found in hardware stores is that it can be overlapped without risk of shorting out or catching fire. So yes, overlap away!
Radiant Solutions has the most comprehensive installation system for Heat Tape that exists. We make accessories to install heat tape on almost any kind of roof.
Click here to learn about product specifically for Natural Cedar Roofs
The short answer is NO. Self-regulating heat cable does not turn itself on and off automatically. To do that you need to put the cable on a switched circuit or outlet or on a controller. Of course, you can also be old-school about it and simply plug and unplug as needed.
“Self-Regulating” refers to the fact that these cables are temperature sensitive. Due to their construction, these cables sense changes in temperature along their entire length, demanding more power as temps fall and less when they rise.
PipeFreeeze Pro™, Pipe Freeze Protection Solution has a built in thermostatic switch, meaning it will turn on and off on it’s own.
Heat Tape Pro™, does not contain a built-in thermostatic controller. We recommend adding the ThermaCord™ Thermostatic controller to turn your Heat Tape PRO to turn the cable on and off with changes in temperature.
Heat Tape Pro is rated for wet locations and outdoor environments. It is ideally suited for outdoor pipes and can be installed in open drains, such as 4″ PVC pipes for gutter system drainage.
Do not use Pipe Freeze Pro for wet location pipe freeze protection.
See Below
Measuring is not difficult and you can make measurements without going up on your roof or using a ladder if you err on the side of overestimating the distances. Here’s Radiant Solutions Guide to Measuring for Heat Tape, which gives a detailed overview of measuring and some tips and resources, if you think you need it.
Once you have your measurements, you can use our Heat Tape Calculator to help you determine the length of Heat Tape Pro you need, the number of Heat Tape Clips you’ll need, and misc. product considerations.
