Blog - Page 13 of 15 - Heatizon Systems

Roof Snow Melt and De-icing Systems

by Steven Bench

“Good grief, the last thing I thought I would need to worry about is a leaky roof!” Said the owner of a newly constructed Class A office building. “Why does my 2 year old metal roof have ice dam problems?” asked a homeowner that recently replaced a 10 year old cedar shake roof with a standing seam metal roof in an effort to get away from leaks. “The snow causes singles from my tile roof to fall off each winter!” proclaimed a home owner that purchased his tile shingle roofed home new 5 years ago. “How can I keep sliding snow from taking my rain gutters off??” inquired a condo complex property manager.

These are just a few of the questions that I get asked each week from people all over North America. Make no mistake; I am not in the roofing business! I am however in the business of warming things up. My company makes products that warms floors, heats buildings, melts now off of paved surfaces, melts snow and ice off of roofs and warms pipes and their contents.

Of course the simplest, but most impractical, solutions to cold weather caused roof and rain gutter problems is simply don’t build in places that experience snow and cold temperatures during the winter or, budget for, yet to be determined, roof and rain gutter repairs. But the best answer is to rely on a combination of design and snow melting technologies to offer long term solutions to the problems caused by snow and ice.

Many different snow and ice melting technologies are available on the market today, some have been around for years, and thus are tried and proven, while others are new and yet to be fully vetted. When selecting which product is best for any given application, it may be helpful to answer each of the following questions:

1) How important is the appearance of my home or building to me? Electric heating cables or hydronic tubing in an extruded metal pan system, electric heat trace, electric heat tape and all other on top of, or replacement for, the roof covering material and will affect the aesthetics of the building. If the unaltered appearance of your home or building is important to you then look at one of the low voltage under roof covering products available from you radiant heating and snow melting professional.

2) How important is product warranty in my decision? Generally roof covering materials have a life expectancy measured in years or decades. As a result, purchasers of roof covering materials usually expect long periods of trouble free service from the materials they select. It only makes sense that products designed to melt snow and ice off of the roof should also have long warranties and the purchasers ought to expect comparable performance from any other product installed under or on top of the roof.

Steven Bench is Managing Member of Heatizon Systems a Murray, Utah based manufacturer and marketer of low and line voltage electric heating and snow melting products.

My Winter Entertainment – Roof Snow & Ice Problems

By Heather Gwilliam

It’s that time of year where I get to sit back, peek out the window at my next door neighbor and enjoy my annual winter entertainment. It’s absolutely fascinating to watch him slowly and painstakingly remove the snow from his roof using a series of long handled rakes, brooms, and shovels.

I, on the other hand, eliminate ice and snow from my roof by flipping a switch and then settling back with a mug of hot chocolate to take pleasure in the show next door. Melting the snow on your roof with the flip of a switch, you say? How is that possible?

With a roof de-icing system from Heatizon Systems.

Cold temperatures and heavy snowfalls can quickly create dangerous and destructive conditions on the roofs of homes and buildings. Sharp icicles, thick layers of ice known as ice dams, and heavy snow slides cause millions of dollars in damage and injure hundreds of people every year.

Cosmetic Damage. The most obvious damage from snow storms is cosmetic damage, including damage to individual shingles, damage to gutters and fascia and other roofing elements. As the snow melts each day, some of the water re-freezes at night. As this cycle continues, ice can accumulate in valleys, gutters and at the eaves of the roof.

Thomas Remodeling says this freeze-thaw cycle is the cause of most of the cosmetic damage they see each year. Ice will expand in the gutters and cause seams to fail and the weight can bend and break the brackets holding the gutters to the home. Down spouts can split especially as water freezes in the down spout.

Structural Damage from Weight of the Snow. Another type of damage can occur from the sheer weight of the snow sitting on the roof and in the gutters. Not all snow is the same. The water content in heavy wet snow will be much greater than dry light snow. One cubic foot of heavy wet snow can weigh up to 20.81 pounds. That’s twelve inches of snow. Keep adding snow, and you can see how quickly the weight can add up. Excessive weight can lead to structural failure. It is no wonder that we see roof failures after major snow storms.

These types of structural failures are most often seen on commercial buildings with flat or low sloped roofing. Some of the worst collapses occurred where a winter storm was followed by a heavy rain some days later. The rain simply has no place to go.

Personal Injury. Every winter, hundreds of injuries result from people trying to deal with winter roof woes.

Although attempting to clear heavy ice and snow from their roofs is a common occurrence, experience shows that it can also be dangerous. The Journal of American Insurance says that they’ve seen people do “some bizarre and even crazy things…over zealous homeowners continue year after year to attack these rooftop glaciers with an arsenal of household weapons that would have left General George S. Patton’s celebrated Third Army running for cover. These include, but are not limited to, ice picks, hammers, chisels, pickaxes, blow dryers, space heaters, shovels and brooms, garden hoses connected to household water heaters, and even panty hose stuffed with rock salt.

These household warriors, while brave and well intentioned, often don’t do themselves or their homes any good. Ventures onto slippery roofs in cold weather can exact a heavy toll in the form of bruises, broken bones and other serious injuries. Moreover, a homeowner armed with an ice pick or pickaxe has been known to cause more damage than if the roof had been left alone in the first place.” “As you can imagine, falls from roofs can cause very serious injuries, some of which are compensated by millions of dollars,” says attorney Michael Bersani. “Take it from me; my law firm and I have successfully won millions for workers who have fallen from roofs.”

Another source of injuries can happen when icicles, ice chunks or large amounts of snow suddenly and unmercifully slide off roofs onto walkways and entrances. One notable example of this type of injury took place in Dallas in 2011 when six people were hurt by snow falling off of Cowboy Stadium. One person suffered head trauma and a concussion, and five others were hospitalized.

Interior Damage from Ice Dams. Although the most obvious damage occurs on the exterior, with ruined shingles, fallen gutters and even roof collapses, some of the worst damage, takes place on the interior when ice and water penetrate roofing materials and create leaks.
”Ice dams are caused by heat escaping into an attic warming the underside of a roof, which melts the snow,” explains Daniel Morrison, Executive editor of Fine Homebuilding & Green Building Advisor. “The water runs down the roof until it gets past where the exterior wall is, and then it freezes — because the roof deck is no longer warm. The ice builds up and forms a dam as more water runs down onto it.”

The water beneath seeps into the cracks and crevices of the roof filling them with water, which expands when it freezes again, spreading the materials the roof is made from and creating gaps in the seal of the roof that keeps the building dry.

When those gaps become large enough, the roof will begin to leak, causing large amounts of water damage within the buildings structural interior which will require extensive repairs. If the damage is not addressed immediately, it can spread, causing a lot of damage to the structural integrity of the building.

Roof deicing and snow elimination systems help prevent the problems of ice and snow buildup around eaves, drains, valleys or entire roofs. These systems not only stop the damage caused by winter stress on a roof, but also remove the hazardous conditions of falling snow or ice and eliminate potential liabilities.

An effective system can prevent ice dams by heating the critical areas of a roof. The system maintains a consistent water flow off the roof or safely diverts melted water into heated gutters that drain into designated locations. This is achieved by having a uniform heat source properly installed.
“It’s important to prevent the buildup of snow and ice around roof eaves, drains, and valleys,” states Steve Bench, Managing Member of Heatizon Systems, based in Murray UT. Heatizon manufactures low-voltage electric radiant roof snow melt and deicing, radiant snow melting, radiant in-floor space heating and radiant floor warming systems.

An investment in a radiant heating system produces the perfect long-term solution to dangerous and destructive ice and snow build up on roofs, diminishing liability issues and increasing peace of mind. The Heatizon roof deicing and snow elimination system is the only way to permanently protect a home or building from winter woes.

Radiant Snow Melting For Sidewalks

by Steve Bench

Over the years, I have had three homes all with different sized sidewalks. My first home had a 3.5 foot wide sidewalk, the second one 4 foot wide and the third, and current, home has a 6 foot wide sidewalk. City and County sidewalks extending along the frontage of home lots are generally 3 feet wide but sometimes they are 4, 5 or even 6 feet wide. In downtown shopping areas it is not unusual to find sidewalks that are as wide as 10 or 15 feet. Needless to say sidewalks come in many different widths and lengths which are designed to handle different amounts of foot traffic and bridge different points.

Since sidewalks come in many different sizes and shapes it seems that the question, “How much does it cost to install a radiant snow melt system into a sidewalk?” has many different answers. Whenever a question has many different answers the potential for any particular answer conveying meaningful information decreases dramatically. So how does one go about finding out how much a radiant snow melting system installed in his or her future sidewalk cost?

The simple answer is to contact a reputable and professional manufacturer or supplier that has been in business for several years and has more resources that just a website, telephone and smooth taking salesman. A true professional radiant snow melting company will seek answers to the following questions prior to giving you a cost estimate.

How wide and long is the sidewalk going to be?
Is the sidewalk going to be made of concrete, asphalt, brick or stone pavers, ceramic tile, or other material?.
How many strike, saw cut, crack control, cold and other joints will be in the sidewalk?
Will insulation be installed under the sidewalk?
Do you want the radiant snow melting system to be manually or automatically operated or both?
Where is the geographic location of the sidewalk?
How much and what kind of traffic is the sidewalk designed to handle?
What energy sources do you have available to energize the radiant snow melting system?

Once a radiant professional has the answers to the above questions he or she can design and price a radiant snow melting system that satisfies the needs of the project. Until a radiant professional, or a website salesman for that matter, understands the answers to all of the above questions the best you are going to get is a guess that is either in or out of the ball park.

Letter to Heatizon from a Happy Customer

Dear Heatizon,

This past summer I had one of your electric snow melting systems installed as part of a remodel project on my home. Since then I have waited with anticipation to see the snow melt as it falls on my new formal entry sidewalk and steps. As fate would have it, we have not had the significant snow fall that we normally get because, the meteorologists claim, the snow storms are trending to the North. Following a dry December, and a very dry 2012 so far, the snow has finally started to fall.

I am happy to report that I was amazed at how well my new sidewalk snow melt system melted the snow and I am happy to report that its performance exceeds my expectations by a big margin. I am so thrilled with the results that I had to write this letter.

The idea of investigating a snow melting system for my project was first presented by my Architect who mentioned that installing electric snow melting cables into new concrete made a lot of sense given our winters in general and for my north facing home in particular. At first I thought that snow melting was a luxury that I probably could live without.

As luck would have it I attended a party a few days later and one of the other guests commented that he was glad that he had installed an electric snow melt system a few years ago because his health would no longer allow him to shovel snow. As an ice breaker I seized the opportunity to ask him several questions pertaining to his snow melt system including; “Where did he purchase it?” and, “How satisfied has he been with its performance?”

During our conversation he told me that his snow melting system was manufactured by a company located in Utah named “Heat is On” or something like that. A quick Google Search for “heat is on, electric snow melt, Utah” lead me to www.heatizon.com.

I feel so lucky to have found your company and to have discovered its products.

Sincerely,

Dean B.
Utah

P.S. The nearest distributor of your products was WarmQuest which was professional and very capable of helping me with design services for my heated sidewalk, the right product selection, and technical support from people that have actually installed snow melt systems.

Designing a Snow Melting System

By Steven Bench

For a Radiant Heating Professional there are few things more gratifying than a well designed, properly installed and correctly operating snow melting system on a cold and snowy winter day. The satisfaction of watching the snow melt as it hits the pavement of the driveway, walk-way, handicap ramp, truck ramp, and/or parking area is difficult to explain. While a correctly operating snow melting system is gratifying to those in the industry and their valued customers, one that is poorly designed, miss-installed or not operating is discouraging and damaging to our industry.

It takes both a good design and correct installation in order for a snow melting system to operate correctly. Unfortunately not all snow melting systems are designed correctly and, equally unfortunate, not all correctly designed snow melting systems are installed correctly. If one or the other is missing, no doubt, customer dissatisfaction will soon follow.

So how does one go about making certain that the snow melting systems they are contemplating for purchase is designed correctly? It is easier than you would initially think. Often times it’s as simple as asking the radiant materials supplier and/or installer a few questions.

How did you determine the amount of energy needed to melt snow for my project?
If the answer includes something along the lines of: “the watts or Btu’s needed was determined using ASHRAE snow melt standards for your projects geographic area and that the materials were selected and the design finalized based on those standards”, keep asking questions. If, on the other hand, the materials selected, energy output determined, and/or design parameters adopted were based on a particular product based on the idea that one size fits all projects then you might want to run as fast as you can from that company and find a qualified radiant supplier/designer.

How far apart have you spaced the radiant heating cables or liquid carrying tubes? If the answer is greater than 9 inches in a 4 inch or less thick sub-straight then expect to have snow accumulation (otherwise known as striping) between the radiant heating cables or liquid carrying tubes.

Does your design include jumpers through or under all joints in my concrete (crack control, expansion, and saw-cut joints)?

A yes answer is good and consistent with the National Electric Code, Canadian Electric Code and ASHRAE. A no answer is a good indication that the designer does not know what he or she is doing?

ALL JOINTS MEAN ALL JOINTS

Given the location of my project do you recommend insulation or a water barrier under the asphalt, concrete, or pavers?A blank stare or an answer without support could mean that you have the wrong designer, material supplier and/or installer.

Steven Bench is Managing Member of Heatizon Systems, a leading manufacturer of low and line voltage electric radiant heating products located in Murray, Utah.

Construct Canada Show – Toronto 2011

By Steven Bench

I recently had the opportunity to visit the city of Toronto to attend the Construct Canada Convention and Trade Show. The flight was smooth for the most part and the time passed by quickly even though I was on a relatively small airplane. As the flight approached Toronto we were warned by the pilot that rain was falling and that it could get a bit bumpy. Fortunately it did not.

I caught a taxi cab from the Toronto airport to downtown where my hotel was located near the convention center. With the clouds and the early darkness, caused by the short winter days, I did not have the opportunity to see the downtown area, or naturally, the area immediately surrounding my hotel and the convention center, until the next day.

The first morning I rose early to take a walk before going to the convention center. I walked between the tall condominium and office buildings and along the shores of Lake Ontario. As I walked I was greeted by several fellow walkers as they hurried to get to work or grab a quick cup of coffee. I thought to myself: “What a friendly city Toronto is.”

My walk continued passed a Ruth’s Chris Restaurant, a Marriott Hotel, several coffee shops, a couple of Subway’s, a few banks and many other buildings, some with names I recognized and others without. My walk ended upon my arrival at the Metro Convention Center. As I entered the convention center I thought: “What a clean city Toronto is”.

Inside the convention center I arrived at the exhibit booth of Power Plant Supply Company, the Toronto based distributor of my company’s electric radiant floor heating and snow melting products. For the better part of the next three days I would stand in the exhibit booth and talk with prospective customers about my company’s products. As the time passed and many prospective customers came and went, I could not help but think: “What a wonderful people the Canadians are.”

When the convention was over one of my associates volunteered to give me a ride to the airport. Of course, I quickly accepted. After a few minutes of great conversation we arrived at the airport and said our goodbyes and I could not help but think: “What a beautiful city Toronto is!”

Its Is That Simple!

by Steven Bench
Managing Member – Heatizon Systems

I recently received a telephone call from a long time, and very pleasant, customer located in the Mid West portion of the United States inquiring about the location of a Heatizon Systems’ Distributor. The customer proudly informed me that she had purchased a new home and she intended to use ZMesh radiant floor heating to warm her home’s floors and melt the snow and ice off of its eaves, just as she had in her two previous homes.

After providing her with the names, telephone numbers, and email addresses of a couple of qualified Heatizon Systems’ distributors, I told her how thankful I was for her business and ask if, She would be willing to tell me why she has repeatedly used Heatizon Systems’ products? She said, “I purchase ZMesh because it is a great product supported by very honest and knowledgeable sales and technical people and anyone that reads the installation manual can easily install it. It is that simple!”

Following our conversation I reflected upon the words the customer had spoken and found comfort in knowing that her words supported many of my basic beliefs as well as Heatizon Systems’ objectives.

Great Products

In 1996, when Heatizon Systems opened for business, it was our objective to provide the absolute finest products possible to our customers. Over the years that objective has guided us very well as our business has grown. So well, in fact, that it continues to be one of our primary objectives and one of the many things that make us different than much of our competition.

Honest and knowledgeable Sales and Technical People

How can anyone expect to have satisfied customers if they have not invested in the human and other resources necessary to serve them? Furthermore, how can anyone expect to have a long term relationship with its customers if it fails to treat them in an ethical and honest manner? The answer to both questions is that they cannot!

Heatizon Systems and its Distributors go to great lengths to be radiant product, design and installation experts and we expect ourselves, and our associates, to be honest and ethical in all of their dealings. A representative of Heatizon Systems’ products may tell you “no” or “I do not know” but they will never tell you whatever you want to hear or fabricate an answer just to make a sale. Sales are very important to our business but customer satisfaction is what allows us to stay in business!

Read the Installation Manual

I have never received a telephone call from someone that both read Heatizon System’s installation instructions and had a problem installing one of our products. I have, however, received several telephone calls from those that did not read the directions and had installation problems. It is that simple!

Electric Radiant Floor Heating

By Steven Bench

Several times each week I get ask the question: “Which is better low voltage or line voltage electric radiant heating and snow melting products?” The answer I always give is: “Tell me more about your project and I will do my best to answer your question”.

It is a fact that many different products exist for warming floors and radiant heating interior spaces. The available products vary in appearance, installation requirements, quality, performance and price. Of course most of us are able to quickly determine the appearance and price differences but few of us are able to accurately gage the difference in quality, performance, and installation requirements without gambling, gaining more knowledge or seeking the aid of an expert.

Gambling can be fun and on rare occasion in my experience profitable but, it probably is not the best method of choosing which electric radiant heating product is best for your project. Becoming knowledgeable on radiant heating products and the proper installation of each is certainly possible for most of us, but most of us do not have the have the time and desire to truly become proficient at it.

Once gambling and educating ourselves on each available product is eliminated, the only viable alternative is relying on a radiant heating expert or professional. The good news is that Heatizon Systems and its Distributors have successfully attracted and/or trained the best people in the business. Our electric radiant heat and snow melt experts are truly interested in understanding all of the alternative electric radiant products available and excited to help you determine which product best suites your budget and the needs of your project.

That alternative technologies exist is wonderful but the fact remains that often one technology is superior over the others for a given installation or project. For example: ZMesh is a wonderful product for in stallion between floor joists, under Hardibacker or Wonderboard, or under engineered or hard wood, but it is not the best product for installation into a concrete slab.

Roof, Rain Gutters and Downspouts

By Steven D. Bench

This past winter was a particularly difficult one for many people and their homes and other structures. Record snow fall levels and low temperature measurements were recorded in many parts of North America.

As the snow melts, and spring flowers emerge from the ground, the previously hidden structural damage caused by ice and snow becomes evident. The damage to structures can range from relatively minor bent or dislocated rain gutters and/or downspouts to significant interior water encroachment and compromised roof covering caused by ice dams and sliding snow and ice.

Repairing the damage is only one very important part of restoring the beauty, functionality, and integrity of any structure. An equally important step is designing a method of making those needed repairs in a manner which will eliminate the problem for years to come. In other words it it’s important to both design and make the repairs in a manner that insures that the problem does not reoccur during the next heavy winter.
Effectively and permanently eliminating the cause of roof, rain gutter, and downspout damage, caused by moving snow and/or freezing water, may be as simple as properly installing heat trace, heat tape or GutterMelt cables. Cables designed to be installed in rain gutters, downspouts and along the eaves of roofs are designed to provide a path for water to escape to an area where it does not matter if it refreezes.

Heat trace, heat tape and GutterMelt cables come in both Self Regulating and Constant Wattage versions. Both Self Regulating GutterMelt and Constant Wattage GutterMelt technologies melt snow and ice off of roofs and from rain gutters and downspouts. Both GutterMelt products come with industry leading warranties and, both, are listed to UL and certified to CSA standards.

Where cables zig zaging along the eave will distract from the ascetics of the building or, when a permanent solution is desirable or removal of the snow and ice in its entirety is needed, then ZMesh or Tuff Cable in Invizimelt deliver the perfect solution. ZMesh is appropriate for installation under most non-electrical conductive roofing materials, while Tuff Cable in Invizimelt is perfect for installation under valley metal, flashing and other conductive materials.