Electrical Industry Canada Electric Heating Issue - 10

CONSIDERATIONS FOR
SELF-REGULATING HEAT CABLES
Quebec winters bring their share of headaches such as heavy snowfall, school and road closures, extreme cold, etc. Snow accumulations can
create ice barriers that can lead to water infiltration through the roof, while extreme cold can freeze water pipes which can subsequently crack or
simply prevent water from passing through. Self-regulating cables are a versatile solution that can prevent these problematic situations and avoid
claims to insurance companies.
There are many applications for self-regulating cables. Thanks to their panoply of installation and control accessories, they can be used in the
industrial, commercial and residential sectors. Their biggest advantage is that, depending on the ambient temperature, the self-regulating cable will
have a suitable output power. This means that a piece of cable buried in the snow can reach a power of 10 W / ſt at this place while at another place
where it is in the open, its output power could be less. - say, 5 W / ſt. All according to the instructions given by the control accessory.
As mentioned previously, the applications of a self-regulating cable are varied. They can be segmented into 2 distinct categories, namely
temperature maintenance (frost prevention) and de-icing of roofs and gutters.
Temperature maintenance / Freeze prevention
Temperature maintenance and freeze prevention can be redefined to
maintaining a material in liquid form. Freezing prevention, mainly on
water pipes, helps prevent the contents of a pipe from reaching a certain
temperature. If a water pipe freezes, the risk of pipe cracks and breakage
is greatly increased. In the case of residential use, a broken pipe causes
water damage and structural damage. In the case of commercial use, we
only have to think of a greenhouse business where a broken pipe could
mean significant monetary losses.
In an industrial sector, for example, a food processing plant that has to
take a raw material like chocolate, and transport it from one end of the
plant to the other. This kind of movement is usually done by pipe.
However, the chocolate must be kept at a certain temperature in order to
ensure a constant flow inside the pipe and this is where the self-regulating
cables come into play. Being located on the pipe, they make it possible to
maintain the contents of the pipe at the desired temperature and ensure
transport of the fluid material.
ELECTRICAL INDUS TRY CANADA
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4
10

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Electrical Industry Canada Electric Heating Issue

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