Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Most everyone (where it snows) needs roof deicing cables as it will protect your roof, home, and people. I've used many brands and they all work but some feel a little heavier duty than others and this brand works fine. Potential Icing Problems (without cables): I've seen many instances where people without deicing cables have had major problems: icy sidewalks and porches, icicles falling on people or breaking a basement window, damaged rain gutters, ice dams causing water to back up under shingles causing roof leaks or rot, water pouring out of a soffit under the eaves and I've even seen it go into an interior wall and come pouring out a circuit breaker panel in a garage. Proper Installation: I install these for customers and proper installation will include the thermostat controller in addition to cables. The thermostat controller will increase the life of the cables and lower your electrical bill, in the long run saving you more money than the controller but most people are too cheap to buy them which never makes any sense. I'll show you why below. They can also be run by a smart light switch. Proper installation is supposed to include a dedicated switch with a red pilot light so it's obvious when its on or off. You may want to run Christmas lights and need to take into consideration if they will be on the same circuit and how much power they will draw. Leaving cables on in warm weather, over 45-50 degrees, or having too many cables next to each other and/or crossing each other, can cause excessive heat and premature failure of the cables. Cables use 5 watts per foot so a 100 foot cable will use 500 watts and people generally have them plugged in and forget about them leaving them on. At 500 watts (or more for more cables or longer cables) for 24 hours a day in the winter time is like leaving on twenty five 20W fluorescent light bulbs 24 hours a day or running a 1500W electric space heater 8 hours a day. Length: For proper installation you really need to read the instructions that come with them or see the manufacturer's website. There really isn't a simple answer as to how many feet it takes for your home as every application is different. Length depends on your roof overhang and even the pitch (slope) of your roof. The steeper the roof the less problems you have with ice. If your roof is not very steep and typically doesn't have any snow on it then you have poor insulation in your attic which will actually increase your icing problems by causing melted water to pool up at the edge, not to mention the extra amount of money you're paying losing heat through your roof. So, if you need attic insulation and are having ice dams start with the deicing cable (cheaper) then get more insulation blown into your attic. The cables need to be run from just beyond the exterior wall to the edge of the roof and down into the rain gutter so, if you have a larger overhang than it takes more cable per foot. Porches and valleys on the roof will use three or four times as much cable as other areas of your roof. Generally you only need deicing cables on the north side of your house or in shaded areas where you have ice problems, or around walkways. For rain gutters you can make one pass on the bottom but you have to run it down the downspouts or they will freeze and then the water can not exit the gutter defeating the purpose. If your down spout is at the beginning or middle of your gutter run then the cable must be doubled up and run down the downspout and back up so it will continue running down the gutter to another downspout or end of gutter. Downspouts sometimes need to be dismantled to get the cables to run all the way through them. Metal and Wood Shake roofs: All of the instructions indicate not to use them on metal roofs or wood shake roofs, obviously for fear that wood roofs could catch fire and metal roofs have sharp edges that can damage the cables and metal roofs typically don't have ice dam problems anyway. Metal roofs have snow and ice which slides off in sheets so they need staggered snow/ice tabs. Cables can be installed on some flat metal roofs as they can have pooling and leaks through seems but cables must not cross sharp edges.