Icoheat’s heating cable is a special cable that converts electrical energy into heat. Based on their heating elements, you can roughly divide them into self-regulating heating cables and constant wattage heating cables. The self-regulating heating cable generates heat through the internal PTC element, while the constant wattage heating cable generates heat through metal conductors, such as copper wires.
The primary purpose of heating cables is to release heat energy to provide thermal compensation for different equipment or systems. Depending on the application, you may often hear about floor heating cable, heat trace cable, snow melting cable, driveway heating cable, etc.
Icoheat is a company specializing in the production and manufacture of heating cables. You can get cost-effective heating cables directly from us. At the same time, you can also customize different types for specific uses.
Heating cables are very versatile. In the civil field, heating cables are mainly used in electric floor heating systems, outdoor snow melting systems, and equipment antifreeze systems. They can also provide thermal compensation for industrial processes and facilitate the smooth implementation of processing processes in the industrial field.
Underfloor Heating Cable
Icoheat underfloor heating cable are produced with premium quality certified by CSA, TUV, CE, UKCA standard.
Pipe ,Roof, Snow, Series Resistance Heating Cable
Icoheat produces a full range of series resistive heating cable. Typical Material of fluoropolymer, XLPE, PVC, Nylon is covered.
Self-regulating Heating Cable
Self-regulating heating cables automatically adjust the heat they release based on the temperature of the surface.
Parallel Constant Wattage Heating Cable
Icoheat constant wattage heating cable provide freeze protection and process temperature maintenance, up to 260 °C.
Series Resistive Heating Cable Accessories
Heating Cables OEM and ODM.
Icoheat offers all kinds of heating cables, including self-regulating heating cables, constant wattage heating cables, floor heating cables, etc. If you’ve had heating business at local, we can do all rest supply work till goods arrive your warehouse. Our one-stop services include product development, production, and logistic.
If you want a heating solution for your project or system, we’re also happy to develop new types. You can trust our technical team, and we have worked with European customers for 10 years.
Why 100+ European Customers Trust Icoheat.
Icoheat supplied heating cables and thermostats to Europe for more than 15 years, and we are very familiar with consumers’ favorites, brands, and potential competitors like you. We’re not just a product supplier; we’re your partner to develop the markets together.
- Technical Advantages: we have our own PTC core element development capability, and few factories can do in this field. And our technical director is an authority expert who develops the 1st generation PTC element.
- Cost Advantages: We control our production cost by importing advanced automatic equipment. Our crucial production processes are using Germany-made machines, which will save 5% cost.
- Quality Guarantee: Most heating cables own 25 years warranty. You can ask for free exchange during the period due to quality problems.
Certificates
All You Need to Know About Heating Cables
As its name says, heating cables work on the same principle of applying a voltage to a length of wire with a given resistance. Then it radiates heat based on ohms law. Heat comes out due to the resistance in the cable alloys as the current moves through it.
That radiating heat warms the area around it and replaces any heat loss. It also protects tanks and pipes from freezing temperatures. If heating is inefficient, production can slow down, resulting in a significant loss of money and time. Heating cables ensure that these mistakes are not overlooked.
The purpose of this guide is to provide enough information about heating cables, heating cable systems and their components, so you can choose the appropriate heating cable for your project.
Two Types of Heating Cables
We generally divide the heating cable into two different types based on their construction and working principle.
- Self-regulating heating cables
- Constant wattage cables
Self-Regulating Heating Cables
A self-regulating heating cable is also called a self-limiting heating cable or heat trace cable. The most common feature of the cable is it may automatically change its heat output according to the ambient temperature change.
Therefore, if the temperature drops, the heat output increases, and when the surface temperature gets hot, the heat output decreases.
Self-regulating heating cables can be cut to length and do not overheat even with multiple overlapping. Because of these characteristics, they are mainly used in electric heat trace systems.
In our daily life, they are mainly used for temperature maintenance and freeze protection of metal and plastic vessels and pipes’ surfaces.
Self-Regulating Heating Cable Classification
The self-regulating heating cable is further classified according to temperature and supply voltage. Thus, there are:
Classification by Temperature (differences in the composition of heat matrix)
- Low-temperature heating cable
- Medium temperature heating cable
- High-temperature heating cable
- Super high-temperature heating cable
Classification by Supply Voltage
- Low voltage heating cable — supply voltages are between 12 and 36 volts. Its length does not exceed 10 meters.
- Medium voltage heating cable — supply voltage is between 100 and 660 volts.. It’s the most commonly used cable
- High voltage heating cable — supply voltage exceeds 380 volts and has a length of more than 500 meters.
Self-Regulating Cable Construction
Self-regulating cables consist of five main parts:
- Copper bus wire
- Polymeric self-limiting conductive heating element
- Internal insulation
- Copper braid
- Outer jacket
A self-regulating cable has two parallel bus wires that transport electricity. These wires are protected by a self-regulating conductive heating element. There’s also inner insulation made from either fluoropolymer or thermoplastic jacket that prevents electricity from leaking. Lastly, there’s a copper braid that serves as ground protection and an extra sheath that protects the cable from different weather conditions and other elements.
Advantages of Self-Regulating Cables
- Safe
- Easy to install
- Energy efficient
- Precise temperature control
- Low maintenance cost
Constant Wattage Heating Cable
As opposed to a self-regulating heating cable, a constant wattage heating cable has the same heat output throughout its length. That heat output will never change no matter how the external temperature changes, what type of insulation material is used, and what kind of media is heated. Because of this, they need a temperature controller to regulate their heat output.
In contrast to self-regulating cables, constant wattage cable installations should not overlap or touch each other. When they do, there is the danger of overheating or burnout.
Constant wattage heating cables are widely used in temperature maintenance, anti-freeze, and anti-condensation of metal pipes, valves, and storage equipment that requires a high power output. These types of heating cables are also often used in petroleum, chemical, electric, and metal industries where high exposure temperature is necessary.
The materials often used for constant wattage heating cables are silicone, polyethylene, and fluoropolymer. However, this largely depends on the wattage design, and the type of environment and temperature it will be exposed to.
Constant Wattage Heating Cable Construction
Constant wattage heating cables are made up of seven layers
- Copper bus wire
- Conductor insulation
- Heating conductor
- Supported insulation
- Second insulation
- Protective copper braid
- Outer jacket
Constant wattage heating cables have two parallel bus wires wrapped with a heating element made of coiled resistor alloy. The copper bus wires are connected alternately at a fixed distance along the cable itself. The joint location found between the heating wire and copper bus wire acts as the contact point and node connection. The distance between the contact points is 1 meter. The inner layer is protected by second insulation, protective copper braid, and outer jacket. The external sheath is usually made of fluoropolymer or rubber.
Advantages of Constant Wattage Cables
- Longer in length
- Heats evenly
- No startup current
- Withstands different temperature ranges
- Continues to run even if one or two zones are damaged
Common Applications of Heating Cables
Heating cables have many applications in commercial, residential, and industrial areas. Here are some of the common heating solutions:
Residential Applications
Electric Underfloor Heating System
Also called radiant heating because radiant heat is used to warm the floor. Electric underfloor heating turns the whole floor into a radiator. It can warm a large surface area evenly without using high temperatures.
Electric heating floor systems are either the main or supplementary heating systems for different floor types, such as carpet, laminate, wood, and stone. The typical electric heating floor system includes a floor heating cable, underfloor heating mat, aluminum foil heating mat, and uncoupling membrane. It is recommended to use an insulation board for quick heat up and heat loss reduction.
Roof and Gutter De-Icing System
During winter, ice and snow can easily accumulate in the gutter and downspout. If the blockage is not addressed immediately, it can damage the drainage system. Furthermore, icicles can cause injury if they fall on people.
Installing heating cables in the roof gutter system prevents ice dams and icicles from forming. It also allows the water to flow safely down the drain, preventing any accidents from happening.
Frost Protection
Every pipe or vessel is subject to heat loss when its temperature is greater than the ambient temperature. If there’s too much heat loss, the liquid in the pipes will freeze. And that can cause the pipe to burst.
To protect water pipes from freezing in cold weather, installing heating cables is recommended. A thin self-regulating heating cable and pre-assembled water pipe heating cable with thermostats are the recommended options.
Industrial Applications
Temperature Maintenance
There are manufacturing processes where temperature needs to be maintained. For example, when processing cosmetics or skincare ingredients, temperature control should be precise; otherwise, the processed components can harden or burn.
Viscosity Control
This is often used in the petrochemical industry where petroleum-based chemicals are prone to become sticky. If this happens, it can clog and damage the pipes, resulting in downtimes which can affect the whole operation.
To prevent this from happening, installing heating cables ensures the consistency of these chemicals so they flow easily through the pipes.