{"id":474,"date":"2019-12-09T11:00:26","date_gmt":"2019-12-09T16:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/?p=474"},"modified":"2025-11-12T06:50:49","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T11:50:49","slug":"de-icing-cables-winter-protection-from-ice-dams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/electrical\/de-icing-cables-winter-protection-from-ice-dams\/","title":{"rendered":"De-Icing Cables for Winter Protection From Ice Dams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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You may have encountered trouble from ice dams before, even\nif you don\u2019t know exactly what ice dams are. Ice dams are what occurs when water\nrunning off the side of the roof of a house freezes in the winter cold before\nit reaches the gutter. Ice dams can build up until they overwhelm a gutter,\ncreating problems like water backing up into the house or broken gutters. Moisture\ncan also get under the shingles of the roof and create serious damage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason ice dams occur in the first place is the uneven\nheating from underneath. Warmth gathers in the attic because heat rises. This\nmelts ice on the roof, which trickles down toward the gutter, but then reaches the\ncold edges of the roof where it freezes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What can you do to stop ice dams? One option to consider calling a professional electrician in Buffalo, NY<\/a> to install de-icing cables on your roof. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Benefits of De-Icing Cables<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

De-icing cables are electrical cables attached to the roof of the house. They aren\u2019t visually distracting, but they provide enough power to melt the ice around them so it runs down into the gutter. It won\u2019t stop the formation of all ice dams, but it does prevent the ice dams from blocking any more snowmelt from reaching the gutter. Your house won\u2019t have a large build-up of ice along the eaves threatening to damage the roof, the gutters, and the interior of your house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

De-icing cables are not<\/em> designed to completely remove\nsnow from your roof, only create enough snowmelt to prevent ice dams from\nbuilding up. How much coverage your roof needs with de-icing cables depends on\nthe shape and slant of the roof and the places where ice dams form. The cables won\u2019t\nwork in extremely low temperatures (\u201310\u00b0F and below). However, ice dams won\u2019t\nform at temperatures this cold, so it\u2019s rarely an issue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Installing De-Icing Cables<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re probably wondering if putting in de-icing cables isn\u2019t\nsomething you can do on your own. It\u2019s not, although plenty of people try! It\u2019s\nnever a good idea to try to work on your roof, especially in winter. Aside from\nthe safety issues, de-icing cables will only do their job if installed\ncorrectly. These are electrical cables that need to be connected to your household\nelectrical system and which will function in connection to water\u2014you really don\u2019t\nwant this job done sloppily or by people who aren\u2019t sure what they\u2019re doing.\nOnly work with a licensed electrician who has experience with this type of\nservice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our electricians are familiar with conditions in Western New\nYork and are qualified to install de-icing cables for your house. We recommend\ncables that are self-regulating: they\u2019ll generate more heat as the temperature drops\nand then cycle off at times when they\u2019re not needed. Electricity is an expensive\nenergy form, and self-regulating cables will help keep costs down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can ask us about other options available. We\u2019ll find\nsomething to meet your needs and your budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Call on Western New York\u2019s Favorite Electrician:<\/a> Scherer Electric. We\u2019re here 24\/7\u2014you\u2019ll always talk to a real person.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What can you do to stop ice dams? One option is to call a professional electrician to install de-icing cables on your roof. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[87],"tags":[91,103,95],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":477,"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474\/revisions\/477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}