Why Does Snow Melt Faster On Some Roofs

If the snow on your roof is melting at an inconsistent rate to your neighbor s home you have some investigating to do.

Why does snow melt faster on some roofs.

In vacant homes with the heat turned low the snow doesn t melt much either. What is the purpose. Where you see a fast melt or completely dry areas you are seeing very specific heat losses. Another indication are the icicles on the gutters of a home following a very heavy snow fall.

How the snow melts on your home s roof provides clues to attic insulation needs. If a home is due to have the insulation replaced after years of neglect then the snow will melt easily due to the heat rising. Ideally snow should melt according to the outside temperature not influenced by the temperature inside your home. The snow can build up on your roof throughout the winter until there is 12 or more.

Likely there is a cold room or cold draft somewhere below solved by a portable heater or. Your attic should be the same temperature as the outdoors. When your attic is hot it means your home is losing heat through the roof causing the snow to melt off your roof more quickly than if you had adequate insulation. I saw that in some of the condo buildings where i live.

See pics the original stack was made of copper and only extended 6 inches off the roof. In some cases you may have had past issues with ice dams due to the roof melting pattern. This represents moisture from snow melting closest to the shingles of the roof and merely leaking down. Sometimes lots of uniform snow on the roof isn t a good indicator of an efficient house though.

Lets say that you live in a area that receives 4 6 inches of snowfall regularly. Why is snow melting quickly on my roof. If not that would definately heat up the attic and melt the roof snow much faster than an neighbor with a furnace not in the. Heat escaping an attic through the roof causes the heat plant boiler furnace or plug in portables to run double time.

Lets unpack some of the information regarding snow guards. Do you have insulation over all the ducts leading out of the furnace and down into the house that are exposed in the attic. You want the snow to melt by. It too kept snow on the roof longer than any other house around.

The purpose of snow guards is to hold accumulated snow on the roof until it can slowly melt. It s normal for some melting around venting and fireplace exhausts but you shouldn t see any bare patches on your roof. Most of the houses in my neighborhood have this heat loss issue. The pipe exits the roof above the right side of the bathroom window as shown in the pics below.

Snow disappears quickly from roofs above attics with little or no insulation but will stay a long time when.