Detection is at the heart of any Delta-Therm snow and ice melting system. If snow and ice can't be accurately identified by the sensor, the system won't perform optimally.
This winter, Delta-Therm's skilled engineering team redesigned the existing sensor for the MPS, Snow Melting or Roof and Gutter Deicing Control, ultimately changing its shape from what looked like a microphone to what now resembles a disc, or hockey puck. The improved MPS, designed to automatically activate roof deicing or snow melting cables, can do its job even better.
For optimal performance, a roof and gutter snow melting system sensor should be placed in the area where you want the snow melted, explains Delta-Therm engineer Ed Witte. The new disc shape sensor allows for this.
The disc sensor is planted inside the gutter under a heating cable drip loop. Protected from wind, which can alter its ability to detect snow, the disc senses moisture from the roof. The previous sensor, MMP, or Mr. Microphone, (appropriately named by engineers) was more susceptible to wind conditions, making it more difficult to activate the roof deicing cable system.
The Mr. Microphone sensor was challenged when presented with only a light dusting of snow, and it sometimes experienced igloo problems that prevented the sensor from detecting moisture. However, in certain applications, such as roofs without gutters, the Mr. Microphone design will still be offered to customers.
Standard components of the system are the MPS control panel, RG moisture sensor, RG temperature sensor and RG sensor adhesive pad. The control panel monitors conditions at the sensor and activates when two conditions are met: the ambient temperature of the thermistor is below 35 degrees Fahrenheit, and snow or moisture is present on the sensor. Once one of the previously mentioned conditions ceases, the system shuts off after a specified amount of time for roof deicing, 75 minutes; for snow melting, 5 hours.
The new sensor can be affixed using Delta-Therm's VHB tape, an added benefit providing security in adverse weather conditions.
Trapping snow in windy, extreme cold is difficult, said Witte. The new disc shape sensor has the best success rate of the available sensors on the market, as is proven with the disc-shaped GS Sensor used with our DTC120-G Roof and Gutter Snow Melting System.