Helmet Heat

SELF-REGULATED HEATED GUTTERS

HELMET HEAT® is engineered to handle the heaviest snowfalls which is why it’s an excellent tool mitigate snow and ice damning in Colorado Springs. This thick-gauged cable is compatible to heat any kind of frozen gutters in Colorado Springs as well as integrate with all kinds of roofs and roof valleys. What makes the Helmet Heat system unique and superior over other heating systems is its ability to integrate with our Gutter Helmet System. Check out the animation to visualize how this system can help solve your snow and ice problems!

In colder months, clogged gutters can become frozen and turn into a solid block of heavy ice and debris. This can cause gutters to buckle and pull away from your house. An ice dam is a buildup of ice under the roof edge. The ice eventually creeps up under the shingles and warps them. Further damage can lead to rotting roof rafters and interior leaks. Faulty insulation and or poor attic ventilation is the root cause of ice dams.

Gutter Helmet of the Pikes Peak Region can install a self-regulating Helmet Heat that can mitigate ice dams and frozen gutters. Additionally, Gutter Helmet’s® patented brackets are specifically designed to carry and conceal the heat cable.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if I need Heat Cable?

Normally it is rather obvious if a home is in serious need of a heat cable system. Conditions include ice damning at the exits of downspouts. This condition can pose serious risks for homeowners slipping and injuring themselves on ice. More obvious conditions include significant now buildup in valleys, hanging icicles, ice formation on ground or in landscaping, and many more seeable signs.

The not-so-obvious conditions that require a heat cable system are ice build-up in places that cannont be seen from the ground and sometimes even a ladder. Gutters are the most common area in which homeowners experience ice damning and buildup. Gutter Helmets Helmet Heat cable is designed to lay flat in both steel and aluminum gutters to disperse heat through the entire gutter.

Even more important is effectively heating everything past your roof and/or gutter systems. This includes downspouts and daylight drains. This is the most difficult and most often, impossible area to detect ice clogging. The result of not catching this symptom during the winter is more severe than some may thing. Frozen gutters and downspouts can lead to expansion and therefore damage to the actual gutter/downspout as well as siding, facias, soffits, and more!

How long do I need to leave heat cable plugged in?

Typically, we recommend that customs activate their heat cable system at least 18-24 hours prior to an incoming storm. In most areas of Colorado Springs, we have found that very few homeowners need to leave their Helmet Heat Cable system on all winter. However, in environments with very little sun exposure and very broad shade from trees, this may be in the best interest of a homeowner. Additionally, if sever weather lingers in a homeowner’s area, it may be wise to leave a heat cable system on for longer than normal.

Ultimately it is best that one takes notice of the level of snowfall and ice on their roof on a less than frequent basis. It is important to consider also; a roofline may appear to be cleared of snow and ice but could potentially have significant ice and snow buildup in the downspouts and gutters. For this reason, it is worth leaving the Helmet Heat system powered for a day or two after it appears that all the ice is “gone” from your home.

After installation of Gutter Helmet’s Helmet Heat, customers are encouraged to call our office to learn more of what to do if they are unsure of any situation.

Where does heat cable plug in to?

Our Helmet Heat cable system can be plugged into nearly any 110-volt or 220-volt outlets. More often than not, a home has some amount of outside power outlets that are typically charged with 110 volts. These outlets may be found near entry ways or edges of garage doors. Ideally, a home will have outlets or power box’s running to the soffit which makes for a coinvent installation and saves some money in length.

The Icy Problem

Even in Colorado Springs and nearby areas, snow and ice buildup on roofs or gutters can be a common and dangerous problem for many homeowners. Heated gutters may be the ideal solution for those hanging liabilities. But how are they formed in the first place?

Ideally, a well-insulated attic space on a home will not radiate any heat into your shingles, avoiding any amount of snow melting on the surface of your roof. However, it is common on many homes where this is not the case and rising heat from the interior of a home is causing some degree of snow melt; as a result, running down to the gutters and re-freezing into those long, sharp, hanging icicles.

Whether you have an existing gutter protection system such as Gutter Helmet or not, our Helmet Heat Cable can be installed on your home as a gutter heating system for snow and ice mitigation.

The Permanent Solution

Many heat cable systems purchased from large box store can lead to even more problems and expenses after a long period of time. Gutter Helmet’s Helmet Heat is the highest quality, most durable, and longest lasting gutter and roof heating system/cable on the market.

In order for any heat cable system to proficiently work and heat a home’s problematic areas, it must be installed correctly. That is why we have appointed and trained our professional Gutter Helmet installers to know the ins and outs of the unique characteristics of rooflines and gutters. For example, on a new installation of new heat cable, our installers must consider the direction in which the rooflines and valleys are oriented. If a particular valley is shaded in nearly all directions and is slope northward, our team is aware of the importance of installing a significantly larger amount of cable in that area.

There are a handful of moving parts that come with installation of a new heat cable system and one of them is electricity. Below are a few frequently asked questions about our Helmet Heat system.