With winter well underway and snowstorms around the corner, many homeowners in Park City have already turned on the heat cable or heat tape on their homes. Heat cable is a good solution for Park City homes with ice dam and icicle problems, but every year we receive hundreds of calls from homeowners of their heat cable not functioning properly. Let’s take a look at 3 reasons that heat cable stops working in Park City.

Home Depot Heat Cable Deteriorates Fast

One of the most common problems that we find when diagnosing heat cable in Park City is that the cable installed has simply deteriorated. This is a very common problem with heat cable from department stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s.

The heat cable that is sold at these stores is not made to withstand the conditions that Park City homes experience during the winter. Often heat cable solutions from these stores will only last 1 to 2 years before they break down and are no longer functioning.

When having heat cable installed, is very important that the cable that is being installed on your home is from a reputable supplier and is commercial-grade quality.

High quality, commercial grade heat cable can last 10+ years without needing to be replaced and is made to withstand much harsher conditions.

Too Much Power Draw From a Circuit

The most common problem with heat cable systems is a circuit breaker trip.

Circuits are made to withstand a specified amount of electrical pull, and if the installed heat cable pulls too much power, it will cause a trip.

We often find that too much heat cable has been wired to a circuit and overloads the circuit once the heat cable is turned on.

This is not the mistake of the homeowner, but the mistake of the person who installed it.

Getting a heat cable diagnosis is a great way to see if this the problem with your heat cable system.

Using a meg tester and checking your circuits, an electrician can identify if your circuits are being overloaded and need to be upgraded.

Conclusion

Heat cable is a great solution for homeowners in Park City who have ice dam and icicle problems.

If your heat cable isn’t properly functioning, the most common reasons are that your cable has deteriorated due to the quality of the cable installed or your circuits are being overloaded due to improper installation.

Getting a heat cable diagnosis is the best way to quickly identify and fix your heat cable.