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Heating the balcony roof. How to heat a dacha: a review of heating systems Why heat the balcony roof

Along with the first invigorating frost, the Russian winter brings many problems: tons of snow on the roofs, ice and icicles falling on your head. But ice on the roof is not only a risk for people standing below to get seriously injured, but also the constant destruction of gutters and hanging gutters. Not to mention the fact that large overloads of snow or ice can even create distortions and destruction of the roof. Arm yourself with a shovel or install professional heating for the roof of your home? Let's decide together!

Designing an anti-icing system is a fairly complex engineering task. It is important to consider many factors here, ranging from the configuration of the roof to the location of all protrusions and canopies. But by approaching this process responsibly and carefully studying this article, you will be able to install the cable on the roof of your house yourself.

Are you interested in knowing why icicles form on the edge of the roof? And where do they even come from in winter, because for this the snow needs to melt?

The thing is that snowflakes, falling on a relatively warm roof, melt and simply flow down. Gradually they overcome a surface that is warmer in temperature and end up on a completely cold cornice, which is located outside the building and no longer receives heat from it. This is where the water freezes, forming large icicles. And they are already causing us so many problems.

The formation of an “ice shell” on the roof indicates the presence of a serious temperature difference between the heated part of the roof and the unheated eaves. And there may be several reasons for this.

Reason #1. Incorrect thermal insulation

Note that they were put on the roof - most often due to improper insulation. So, if the heat loss of a house largely goes through the roof (due to the lack of normal thermal insulation), then this same heat slightly melts the snow on the roof. And that, as you already understand, creates the main problems.

And, if ice on the roof is a sign that the roofing pie was designed incorrectly, then literally in two or three years all this will come out sideways: rotting insulation, mold on the walls and the smell of dampness. That is why, ideally, a properly equipped roof does not need heating, because... ice does not form on it. Unless the weather is crazy.

Reason #2. Climate Features

According to the meteorologist, during the winter in Russia, on average, up to 70 temperature jumps over the 0°C mark are recorded! But such fluctuations are precisely what cause the most problems. So, the air quickly heats up and cools quickly, the snow begins to melt - and immediately turns into ice.

Severe frosts overnight give way to a thaw, and then unexpected sub-zero temperatures. Is this a familiar picture? Is this what the weather is like in that area? Thaws are especially problematic, when in one day the street temperature can easily be on both sides of the zero mark. As a result, the snow on the roof melts during the day and quickly freezes at night.

Reason #3. Complex roof structure

Popular roof turrets, internal corners, collars and horizontal platforms add their own complexity. All of them form additional snow cover, which causes even more problems. That’s why designers recommend for Russian latitudes to give preference to a simple roof shape with an angle of inclination of 30°, but in Europe let them fantasize, they don’t have that much snow.

Why is all this dangerous for the roof?

So why be afraid? Already the first water frozen on the cornice forms an ice dam, in front of which water continues to accumulate. According to invisible physical laws, the liquid now begins to move up the seams of roofing joints, just as water moves in communicating vessels (these are the ones used as construction hydraulic levels). And this, in turn, becomes the cause of leaks!

Moreover, ice manages to form not only on the roof, but also in gutters, and even in vertical drainpipes. And, if the melt water no longer has a way out due to the gutter clogged with ice, it begins to flow under the roofing. And there, moisture will always find a way out to the insulation and the internal space: holes on the waterproofing film after the stapler, small tears, damage, joints with roofing elements. The result is rotten rafters, damp insulation and the proliferation of fungus in the attic.

In addition, if you have ever encountered broken gutters, know that this is the work of ordinary rain and melted snow, when there is no protective anti-icing system.

Also, if there is no snow on the roof, because... it constantly thaws and slides down, then the roofing itself will eventually be subject to constant cycles of freezing and thawing. And this is a noticeable reduction in the life of the roofing. Moreover, the soft roof suffers the most, as it loses its stone chips and clogs the drains with them, the ceramic tiles burst, and water eventually flows under the rolled roofing. Even metal is torn by ice.

That is why heating of roofs is necessary for any building, and not just where icicles threaten to fall on the heads of city residents. Moreover, modern technical solutions are quite simple and accessible to everyone.

Why not just dump the snow?

Note that even today a mechanical method of dealing with ice and icicles is actively used - a shovel, a crowbar and a scraper. It would seem that it would be simpler: knock all this wealth off the roof, and you’re done. No electrical systems, cables or hot water pipes are needed. But in fact, the disadvantages of this method completely cover all its advantages:

  • Frozen ice clogs gutters and ruins gutters.
  • When cleaning the roof, it is easy to scratch the roof covering, which will quickly lead to corrosion.
  • When clearing snow, a person often slides off the roof along with it.

In addition, ice drains themselves are dangerous. They become too heavy and at one moment they can simply collapse on the heads of people standing nearby. And this is not to mention the expensive repairs that can await you.


Why install heating and what options are there?

There are three reasons to install a special heating system on the roof:

  1. Safety of people, animals and personal property that may fall into the area under icicles and ice blocks. Agree, it’s a shame not only to get a concussion from a rolling ice block, but also to damage your favorite car.
  2. Reducing the weight load on the roof and the entire building that ice can create.
  3. Preserving the integrity of the roof and drainage system, protection from destruction due to the formation of ice.

But let's understand some individual concepts.

Roofs on which both snow and ice melt at a temperature of -10°C are called “warm”. This is where they have problems with icing and cannot do without additional heating. If the ice on the roof melts at an even lower temperature, such a roof is called “hot”, and a conventional cable heating system may no longer be sufficient.

In order to get rid of ice on the roof, the following methods are used today:

  • The rarest type of roof heating today is electric pulse systems. They require expensive equipment, which pays for itself only in a few years, due to fairly low electricity consumption. But gutters and drains cannot be protected from ice in this way.
  • Heating the roof with a heating cable is the most modern and safe way to get rid of ice. This system is convenient for heating not only the edge of the roof, but also gutters and drains, even of the most complex design.
  • The third method is to apply special emulsions to the roof that prevent icing. But emulsions are not cheap, and they need to be applied to the roof several times in one winter.

The most popular is electric heating of the roof and attached gutters, which will be discussed further.


Installation of electric heating of roofs and gutters

So, the simplest and most popular solution to the problem is to warm up the cornices with a snake. For 1 meter of cornice you will need to install 6-8 meters of cable to achieve a power of about 180 W/m for the same square.

There is also a more economical solution developed by some modern companies: sheets of copper or steel are mounted under the cable, which is less efficient. It is enough for such an installation to operate with a power of 30 W/m, because heat will be distributed from the cable over 25-30 cm. In total, energy consumption will be reduced by 6-8 times, which is quite significant for a private home. Note that such heating systems are also much more fireproof.

The essence of this system

The roof heating system consists of the following elements:

  1. Heating cable.
  2. Automation.
  3. Additional elements for fastening.
  4. Electricity distribution network.

The heart of the heating cable is the heating matrix, and different manufacturers give different service life.

Selection of necessary equipment

A complex automatic system involves the placement of sensors in the most critical places that can monitor the temperature and automatically turn on the heating when there is a danger of ice formation. Moreover, they can monitor not only temperature, but also humidity. That is why the automatic system, although it is 20% more expensive than a conventional resistive cable, saves electricity itself.

But to the question of which cable is better - resistive or self-regulating - there is no clear answer. The fact is that on roofs of a simple design it is more economical to install a resistive cable, because it does not require complex automation: we simply adjust the cable system to the desired temperature range. But for roofs with different slopes, roof windows and other structural elements, a resistive system is no longer effective - a self-regulating one is needed. Although a self-regulating cable can also be cut into pieces directly during installation, it is therefore much easier to design an entire heating system with it.

Of course, there are often situations when it is necessary to combine two entire systems on one roof in order to achieve the desired result.

Installation subtleties

It is better to install the heating system in the warm season. Next, we will talk about heating flat and pitched roofs separately.

The simplest heating is for a flat roof with parapets and internal funnels. In this case, it is enough to heat only the funnels or drainpipes themselves.

Here the cable must be installed in all external pipes. If there is overflow from different levels of the roof, then we heat both the overflow area and the likely path of melt water to the closest water intake.

The heating cable must be laid in all gutters and drainpipes around the perimeter of the roof. Additionally, you can install a heating system in problem areas such as the valley and difficult parts of the roof.


If there is no drainpipe or gutter along the edge of the roof, then we simply hang one thread of cable under the roof - it will “cut off” the icicles.

Note that hanging gutters need to be heated less than built-in ones - just take this into account when designing your house.

In addition, it is safer to attach the cable to a special tape that keeps the roofing intact:

How to choose quality components?

There are two main indicators that characterize the quality of a heating cable. So, this is the power at rest, which is measured at an air temperature of 0°C, and the operating power, which is measured in ice, at its temperature of 0°C. Typically, manufacturers indicate both of these indicators directly on the heating cable.

Unfortunately, power always decreases over time, and the worse the quality of the cable, the faster. And reducing the power of the heating cable always leads to the fact that the heating system copes with its functions worse and worse. Only the most expensive cables are capable of not changing their power for 10 years.

But take into account such subtleties. Thus, a foreign manufacturer usually indicates the cable power at a mains voltage of 240V, whereas in Russia it is 220V. This means that the power of such a cable is actually less than 10%, which is important for accurate calculations. Therefore, it is better to purchase heating cables from companies that also develop their products specifically for Russia. Note that designers often play it safe and advise the buyer to install a more powerful cable than is necessary.

For your own safety, try to use original components from the same manufacturer as the cable. Moreover, this must be demanded from suppliers who always strive to save money. It’s even better to contact the official representative directly: they are easy to find on the Internet and you can immediately order professional installation from them.

It is important that the outer sheath of the cable is resistant to ultraviolet rays and does not deteriorate over time.

The main thing is to avoid mistakes!

Now let's look at all the most annoying mistakes in installing a heating cable, which can easily lead to problems.

Mistake #1. Rough installation

If you fasten the cable carelessly, it can easily be broken in several places. Because of this, the entire heating system is eventually destroyed.

Mistake #2. Mobility

If the cable is movable due to the fact that it is attached only to the mounting tape, it will not last even two years. And all because it will constantly be subject to mechanical impact from snow and ice.

Mistake #3. Incorrect fasteners

Heating cables for roofs cannot be secured with tape, which is used for installing heated floors. The clamps used are completely unsuitable for fastening the cable, and easily unbend under the pressure of sliding snow. Why then are clamps used for floors? This is a temporary measure, and their function ends when the floors are filled with cement screed.

Special plastic cable fasteners are also not suitable for this purpose if they are mounted with a click. In a few years, such a fastening will crumble due to fragility due to ultraviolet rays. And even more so, you cannot attach white plastic ties - only black ones, and only from a good manufacturer. Conventional ties not for roofing are, of course, cheaper, and visually hold the cable no worse, but they will not last more than one winter.

Mistake #4. Excess of mounting holes

Any hole in the roof, even one that is well sealed with sealant, begins to leak over the years. Therefore, it is absolutely wrong to strive to secure the cable as tightly as possible.

Mistake #5. Incorrect cable insulation

If a heat-shrink tube is installed on the tip of the heating cable and crimped with pliers, then when the wire is heated, the tightness will be lost. Can you imagine the consequences?

Mistake #6. No cable

The heating cable, of course, can be lowered into the drainpipe without a cable, but thermal expansion and the weight of the ice will do their job - the system will break.

Mistake #7. Using the wrong cable

Power cables that are not specifically designed for installation on the roof cannot be used: the system will constantly turn off, and it is possible that those who touch it will receive an electric shock.

There is also no need to place the cable where it is not needed - on the roof railing, for example. This is just an extra waste of energy, and nothing more.

That's all the difficulties!

In early spring and late autumn, all homeowners are faced with the problem of freezing roof slopes and freezing melt water inside gutters. If it is not resolved in a timely manner, the safety of people, as well as the safety of their property, will be threatened by large icicles and frozen lumps of snow falling from the roof.

A good solution is to heat the gutters, which will prevent the formation of ice. In this material we will talk about why you need to equip your drainage system with heating. We will also talk about what materials are required for this and describe in detail the essence of the process.

During the winter months, frost and heavy rainfall prevail in most regions of our country. As a result, large amounts of snow accumulate on the roof. An increase in temperature provokes first their thawing, and later active thawing.

During the day, melted water runs down the edges of the roof and into the gutters. At night it freezes, which leads to the gradual destruction of roofing elements and gutters.

This picture is typical for the off-season. If you don't take action, ice and snow will fall to the ground. In this case, the facade, gutters, and cars parked below may be damaged.

Icicles and a conglomerate of frozen snow and ice accumulate at the edges of the roof. From time to time they fall down, threatening the safety of people below and their property, the integrity of the drainage system and the decorative elements of the facade.

All these troubles can be prevented only by ensuring the unhindered drainage of melted water. This is only possible if the edges of the roof are heated and.

It happens that in order to reduce the cost of a heating system, it is laid only on the roof surface. The owner is fully confident that this will be quite enough.

However, it is not. The water will flow into gutters and pipes where it will freeze at the end of the day because there is no heating. The gutters will be clogged with ice, so they will not be able to receive melt water. In addition, there is a danger of mechanical damage.

Thus, in order to get a good result, you should arrange heating for the roof and the surrounding gutters. In most cases, the heating cable is mounted on roof eaves, inside gutters and funnels, at the joints of roof fragments, along valley lines.

In addition, heating must be present along the entire length of drainpipes, in catch basins and drainage trays.

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Heating system calculation

Experts advise choosing cables with a power of at least 25-30 W per meter for heating the roof and gutters. You need to know that both types of heating cables are used for other purposes. For arranging heated floors, for example, but their power is much lower.

Before you begin calculating power, you need to decide how all elements of the system will be heated. The figure shows examples of possible organization of heating gutters and drains

Power consumption is estimated in active mode. This is the period when the system operates at maximum load. It lasts in total from 11 to 33% of the entire cold period, which conventionally lasts from mid-November to mid-March. These are average values, they are different for each area. The power of the system needs to be calculated.

To determine it, you need to know the parameters of the drainage system.

Let us give an example of calculations for a standard design with a cross-section of a vertical drain of 80-100 mm, a gutter pipe diameter of 120-150 mm.

  • It is necessary to accurately measure the lengths of all gutters for water drainage and add up the resulting values.
  • The result must be multiplied by two. This is the length of the cable that will be laid along the horizontal section of the heating system.
  • The length of all vertical drains is measured. The resulting values ​​are added together.
  • The length of the vertical section of the system is equal to the total length of the gutters, since in this case one cable line will be sufficient.
  • The calculated lengths of both sections of the heating system are added up.
  • The result obtained is multiplied by 25. The result is the electric heating power in active mode.

Such calculations are considered approximate. Everything can be calculated more accurately if you use a special calculator on one of the Internet sites. If independent calculations are difficult, it is worth inviting a specialist.

Choosing a place to lay the cable

Actually, the heating system for gutters is not that complicated, but in order for it to work as efficiently as possible, the cable should be laid in all areas where ice forms and in places where melted snow melts.

In roof valleys, the cable is installed down and up, extending over two-thirds of the valley. Minimum - 1 m from the beginning of the overhang. For every square meter of valley there should be 250-300 W of power.

On flat areas of the roof, heating is installed for the roof fragment located directly in front of the catchment area. This way, melt water will freely flow into the pipe.

Along the edge of the cornice, the wire is laid in the form of a snake. The snake pitch for soft roofs is 35-40 cm; on hard roofs it is made a multiple of the pattern. The length of the loops is chosen in such a way that there are no cold zones on the heated surface, otherwise ice will form here. The cable is laid on the water separation line along the drip line. This can be 1-3 threads, the choice is made based on the design of the system.

The heating cable is installed inside the gutters. Usually two threads are laid here, the power is selected depending on the diameter of the gutter. One heating core is laid inside the gutters. Particular attention should be paid to pipe outlets and funnels. This usually requires additional heating.

Heating system technology

We suggest you study the detailed instructions for installing a heating system for the roof and gutters with your own hands. The process of installing a heating system for gutters includes a number of standard steps:

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Car windows should not only perform protective functions, but also ensure driving safety. To maintain a view of the road, various additional devices are installed on the glass. For example, a special heating system is installed on the rear window, which prevents it from freezing and helps to quickly clear it of snow and ice in the cold season, as well as from fogging.

First, let's figure out what a car's rear window heating system is. This is a special mesh made of high resistance material that conducts current. It is applied to the glass from inside the car on the rear window.

Important!At night, the applied mesh slightly changes the view from the rear view window. Metal threads reflect the headlights of cars driving behind, creating glare. This distracts you a little from the road and can cause an accident.

The heating system may differ slightly on different cars, but in principle it is approximately the same for all models. It includes the following key elements:

heating element of the rear window heating system;

Indicator lamp that signals the system is turned on;

System switch;

Ignition switch;

Mounting block.

The system is brought into operation only when the ignition is turned on. To turn on the system, you must press the corresponding button. Power is supplied to it through a special relay. After switching on, another relay is activated - heating, connecting the heating element. As soon as it starts working, the heating indicator light turns on.


The heating element itself can be designed in different ways. But, as a rule, it is made in the form of a mesh of thin nickel threads. They are connected to the conductive busbars, which are located on the sides of the glass. Each of the buses on one side receives a voltage current of 12 V, and on the other is shorted to ground.

The threads themselves are attached to the glass with special glue. Sometimes the glass is first coated with a coating, say, aluminum, and a mesh is attached on top with glue and covered with a translucent film.

What spare parts and tools need to be prepared to install heating?

As can be seen from the diagram of the heating system structure, it is quite simple to equip a homemade rear window heating. For this case you will need:

the rear window itself;

Electric heating threads;

Approximately 5 meters of blue wire and 7 meters of red;

Switch/switch;

Pads;

Relay (4 contacts 30 A);

Heat shrink;

Ring-shaped union contacts for bolt and stud;

Terminals (“mother”, “father”).

To install the system, you will need the following tools: insulating tape; pliers; pliers; screwdriver.

Important! The filaments are quite thin, so they are susceptible to mechanical damage. You must work with them extremely carefully so as not to damage them during the installation stage. Any external influences after installation can also lead to the thread breaking.

Heater installation steps

The question of how to connect the heated rear window is solved in two stages, especially if the work is carried out in the cold season. First you need to collect the blanks. You can even do this at home, and only after that go to the garage and install the assembled system in your car.

Collection of workpieces

This is the shortest stage. First, we take the pads, and if wiring is installed on them, remove them. Having crimped the wires with the “mother” contacts, we folded a new block. After this, you need to fold the relay by crimping the ring connector. We make a wire that will be used to connect the heating to the body.

Installing heating in a car

Now you can begin the actual installation. To do this, remove the dashboard and pads. Be sure to remember their location so that you can install them in the same order later. To prevent a short circuit, you must remove the battery terminals in advance.


Determine where you will have the switch and relay. Connect the power, run the wires to the fuses under the dashboard. Find a 16A fuse and connect the positive wire that comes from the relay to it. The wire from the switch with the “+” sign must be connected to an 8 A fuse. We secure all these wires to a common bundle of wires. Carefully remove the switch from the dashboard and, after connecting the block, insert it back.


The final stage is running the wires to the glass that will be heated. The wire with the “+” sign is laid where it is convenient for the driver. Practice shows that its most convenient location is together with the main wiring bundle.

Now you need to form a “mother” and insulate the wire with tape. After this, you need to connect the negative heating wire to the strut housing and the body. Then you can reinstall the panel, floor mats and connect the battery.

During installation, the question often arises of how to glue the heated rear window terminal. It is ideal to solder it with rosin or acid. But this job requires some skills. If they are not there, then the part can be glued with a special conductive glue. Typically, it consists of silver filings with a hardener and epoxy glue.

Did you know?You can make conductive glue on silver yourself. To do this, mix 1% formalin solution with silver nitrate in equal parts, then add five drops of 5% ammonia to the mixture. The resulting black silver precipitate must be removed using distilled water and a filter. The mixture is dried at a temperature of 105–150°C, where filtered powder is then added.


Before installing the terminal to the foil strip, the strip is sanded and tinned on all sides. Having soldered the terminal to it, coat the other side with glue and press it to the desired place on the glass so that all excess glue comes out. This guarantees good contact. The glue dries within 24 hours. It is not recommended to use a heater at this time.

How to check if the heating is installed correctly

After installing the system, the next question is how to check if the rear window heating is working? To find out how successful all the manipulations described above were, you need to turn on the ignition, then the heating and wait about 5-10 minutes. Then inspect the glass to ensure the system is operating efficiently.

If the installation was not very successful, individual threads may not heat up. In winter, this can be noticeable due to ice that does not melt. In the warm season, you can check the rear window heating filaments with a tester. It can be used to determine the integrity of the thread. If it turns out that there are breaks in it, it must be replaced.

Did you know? Most often, an ohmmeter is used as a tester. But today this unit is becoming a thing of the past, and instead a more universal device is used - a multimeter.

If the system does not work completely, that is, not a single thread heats up, the problems may be as follows:

fuse malfunction;

Switch malfunction;

The tips are poorly connected;

Fault in the wires;

The contact of the glass heating element is not connected.

As you can see, the question of how to heat the rear window is easily resolved. First you need to assemble the entire system, and then connect it in the correct sequence to the rear window. The process is quite simple and every car enthusiast can handle it.

Winter is a good time for daydreaming, hot coffee and interesting books. Winter also means snow. A lot of snow. And if you do not remove it from the roof of the balcony in time, ice may form, which poses a danger not only to the roofing material itself, but also to people passing by. Is it worth exposing yourself to such danger? Of course not. But is there a way out of the current circumstances?

We, the EliteBalcon company, offer you to install a modern, high-quality heating system. This is much simpler, more profitable and safer than calling climbers every time to clear the roof of snow. What is "warm" roof? Is it profitable?

Why heat the balcony roof?

Some people believe that heating the roof is a fad, but by no means a necessity. We would like to note that this opinion is “promoted” by those who do not live on the top floor, and therefore do not face the problem of icing. If you do not remove snow from the roof, it may not withstand the weight of precipitation and fail. And icicles flying from the top floor pose a real threat to the lives of people passing by.

Why does roof icing occur in the first place? It's all about the lack of thermal insulation of the roof. The indoor temperature is much higher than the outdoor temperature. As a result, the inner surface of the roof heats up, the snow melts, forming ice crusts and icicles. We live in an area where real winter is raging - heavy snowfalls, frosts and sudden temperature changes. If you do not protect your balcony roof from these phenomena, you will soon have to deal with gaps, cracks, chips, leaks, mold and drafts.

Roof heating– a functional, practical system that will save you from many problems and protect expensive roofing material from destruction. The principle of its operation is simple. Our craftsmen install triple-insulated electrical cables on the roof. The peculiarity of this cable is its resistance to moisture, dampness, acid precipitation, severe frost and corrosion. A special regulator is placed in the room, which allows you to control the temperature of the heaters so that the snow melts gradually and evenly.

“Warm” roofing has several advantages:

  • No loads in the form of snow and icicles.
  • Protection against blockages of waste water and deformation of the roof surface.
  • Proper drainage of melt water.
  • Safety of roofing material.
  • Convenient adjustment.

Is it profitable to install balcony roof heating? The word "heating" implies the use of electricity, so some fear that the costs of using the device will be exorbitant. We want to assure you that the manufacturers have thought through everything to the smallest detail, installing a thermostat on the system that allows you to use the device as needed.

In order for the roof heating system to operate in the desired mode, it is necessary to install a devireg™ 610 thermostat, which regulates the functioning of the heating system. It is attached to a wall or pipe.

"EliteBalcon" - high-quality heating of the balcony roof

Repairing the balcony and the roof itself is an expensive process. It is logical that you want to enjoy the result for a long period of time and even more than one decade. If you want to make your balcony comfortable, cozy and warm, be sure to install a roof heating system. Our craftsmen will lay the cable in a zigzag, placing it closer to the edge. This is done in order to prevent the accumulation of snow, to ensure the gradual melting of precipitation and its unhindered downward flow.

We cooperate with well-known, trusted manufacturers and guarantee delivery of original goods. The work begins with taking measurements, which our master is ready to take today. Contact the manager to place an order and get answers to your questions.

Making the water supply to a private home or cottage constant and uninterrupted is not an easy task. The most difficult thing is to ensure water supply in winter. To prevent pipes from freezing, they can be laid below the freezing depth, but weak points still remain. The first is abnormally cold winters, which periodically break all records. The second is the entry points into the house. They freeze often anyway. The solution is to install a heating cable for the water supply. In this case, sewerage is desirable, but it can be buried shallowly. And in the areas leading into the house, you can install a more powerful heater and better insulate it.

Types of heating cables for water supply

There are two types of heating cables - resistive and self-regulating. Resistive ones use the property of metals to heat up when passing an electric current. In this type of heating cables, a metal conductor is heated. Their characteristic feature is that they always emit the same amount of heat. It doesn’t matter whether it’s +3°C or -20°C outside, they will heat up the same way - at full power, therefore, they will consume the same amount of electricity. To reduce costs in relatively warm times, temperature sensors and a thermostat are installed in the system (the same as those used for electric heated floors).

When laid, resistive heating wires should not intersect or be located next to each other (close to each other). In this case, they overheat and quickly fail. Pay close attention to this point during the installation process.

It is also worth saying that resistive heating cables for water supply (and not only) can be single-core or double-core. Two-core ones are more often used, although they are more expensive. The difference is in the connection: for single-core ones, both ends must be connected to the mains, which is not always convenient. The two-core ones have a plug at one end, and at the other end there is a fixed ordinary electrical cord with a plug, which is connected to a 220 V network. What else do you need to know? Resistive conductors cannot be cut - they will not work. If you bought a coil with a section longer than necessary, lay it in its entirety.

Self-regulating cables are made of a metal-polymer matrix. In this system, the wires only conduct current, and the polymer, which is located between the two conductors, heats up. This polymer has an interesting property - the higher its temperature, the less heat it releases, and vice versa, as it cools down, it begins to release more heat. These changes occur regardless of the condition of adjacent sections of the cable. So it turns out that it regulates its own temperature, which is why it is called self-regulating.

Self-regulating (self-heating) cables have many advantages:

  • they can intersect and will not burn out;
  • they can be cut (there are markings with cutting lines), but then you need to make an end coupling.

They have one drawback - the high price, but the service life (subject to the operating rules) is about 10 years. So these expenses are reasonable.

When using a heating cable for any type of water supply system, it is advisable to insulate the pipeline. Otherwise, heating will require too much power, which means high costs, and it’s not a fact that heating will cope with particularly severe frosts.

Installation methods

The heating cable for water supply is laid outside or inside the pipe. For each method there are special types of wires - some only for external installation, others for internal installation. The installation method must be specified in the technical specifications.

Inside the pipe

To install a heating element inside a water pipe, it must meet several requirements:

  • the shell should not emit harmful substances;
  • the degree of electrical protection must be at least IP68;
  • sealed end coupling.

To be able to thread the wire inside, a tee is placed at the end of the pipeline, into one of the branches of which the wire is inserted through the gland (included in the kit).

Please note that the coupling - the transition point between the heating cable and the electrical cable - must be located outside the pipe and gland. It is not intended for wet environments.

A tee for installing a heating cable inside a pipe can have different outlet angles - 180°, 90°, 120°. With this installation method, the wire is not fixed in any way. It is simply tucked inside.

Outdoor installation

The heating cable for the water supply must be secured to the outer surface of the pipe so that it fits tightly over the entire area. Before installation on metal pipes, they are cleaned of dust, dirt, rust, welding marks, etc. There should not be any elements left on the surface that could damage the conductor. A rein is laid on clean metal and fixed every 30 cm (usually possible, less often not) using metallized adhesive tape or plastic clamps.

If there are one or two threads stretching along, then they are mounted from below - in the coldest zone, laid parallel, at some distance from each other. When laying three or more wires, they are positioned so that most of them are at the bottom, but the distance between the heating cables is maintained (this is especially important for resistive modifications).

There is a second installation method - a spiral. The wire must be laid carefully - they do not like sharp or repeated bends. There are two ways. The first is to unwind the coupling, gradually winding the freed cable onto the pipe. The second is to secure it with slack (bottom picture in the photo), which is then wound and secured with metallized adhesive tape.

If a plastic water pipe is to be heated, then metallized tape is first glued under the wire. It improves thermal conductivity, increasing heating efficiency. Another nuance of installing a heating cable on a water supply system: tees, valves and other similar devices require more heat. When laying, make several loops on each fitting. Just watch out for the minimum bend radius.

How to insulate

It is definitely not advisable to use mineral wool of any origin to insulate a heated pipeline. She is afraid of getting wet - when wet, she loses her thermal insulation properties. Having frozen wet, after the temperature rises, it simply crumbles into dust. It is very difficult to ensure the absence of moisture around the pipeline, so it is better not to use this insulation.

Insulation materials that compress under the influence of gravity are not very good. Having shrunk, they also lose their thermal insulation properties. If your pipeline is laid in a specially constructed sewer system, nothing can put pressure on it, you can also use foam rubber. But if you are simply burying the pipe, you need rigid thermal insulation. There is another option - put a rigid pipe, for example, a plastic sewer pipe, on top of the crushable insulation (for example, closed-cell polyethylene foam).

Another material is polystyrene foam, molded into fragments of pipes of different diameters. This type of insulation is often called shell insulation. It has good thermal insulation characteristics, is not afraid of water, and can withstand some loads (depending on density).

What power is required for a heating cable for a water supply system?

The required power depends on the region in which you live, on how the pipeline is laid, on the diameter of the pipes, whether it is insulated or not, and even on how exactly you lay the heating - inside the pipe or on top of it. In principle, each manufacturer has tables that determine cable consumption per meter of pipe. These tables are compiled for each power, so there is no point in posting any of them here.

From experience, we can say that with average pipeline insulation (expanded polystyrene shell 30 mm thick) in central Russia, a power of 10 W/m is sufficient to heat one meter of pipe from the inside, and at least 17 W/m must be taken from the outside. The further north you live, the more power (or thicker insulation) you need.

With or without thermostat?

If you want to pay a pittance for heating the water supply, it is better to install a thermostat. Even if you are planning to install a self-regulating heating cable. Basically, the characteristics are as follows: switches on at +3°C, switches off at +13°C.

If your water is supplied from a well, it will never have a temperature of +13°C. It turns out that the heating will work all the time, even in spring and summer. In the summer, of course, the cable can be turned off, but in the spring and autumn this cannot be done due to the possibility of sudden frost. It’s somewhat simpler, but not much - in summer the water there can have a temperature just above the shutdown threshold. But this is in the summer, and during the hottest period. And in general, why do you need to heat, say, the water that goes into the drain tank? And you will still heat the one that goes to the kitchen or shower with boilers or instantaneous water heaters.

In any case, it turns out that a thermostat is needed. On it you set the shutdown temperature to around +5°C. The costs of heating the pipeline fall significantly. At the same time, the service life of heating cables increases significantly - they have a certain service life of working hours. The less they work, the longer they will serve you.

Heating cable for water supply - connection diagram to the thermostat

When installing a water heating system with a thermostat, you will also need to install a temperature sensor. There is a difficulty here. It must be placed on the pipe so that it is not affected by the temperature from the heaters. That is, it does not need to be thermally insulated from the pipe, but it is necessary from the cables.

It is advisable to install the thermostat itself indoors. It is connected to the brownie through a circuit breaker and, preferably, an RCD. The power consumption of the heating cable is small, so the rating of the machine can be about 6A, the rating of the RCD, choose the nearest larger one, otherwise the leakage is preferably 30 mA.

Connect the heating cable for the water supply to the corresponding connectors on the thermostat housing. If there are several branches, they are paralleled. A temperature sensor is connected to adjacent contacts. Each thermostat has markings that make it clear what needs to be connected and where. If there is no marking, it is better to buy another one: the performance of this copy is very doubtful.