System for preventing and clearing ice dams

An ice dam prevention and clearing system for use with gutters and downspouts mounted to a roof, said system comprising:

• a conductive PTCR cable for generating heat upon receiving electrical current having a plurality of sections that react independently to ambient air conditions, each section of said PTCR cable having a heat output that changes in inverse proportion to a change in ambient temperature;
• a plurality of wire holding assemblies, each wire holding assembly comprising:
• a base clip having a generally inverted U-shaped configuration for releasably engaging a front panel of a gutter;
• an elongate arm having a plurality of telescopic sections, a first telescopic section being rotatably coupled to said base clip such that said arm is laterally movable for positioning said arm at a desired position on said roof;
• wherein said arm includes at least one fastener for retaining said PTCR cable;
• and
• a control unit having a central processing unit (CPU) electrically connected to a power source and to said PTCR cable for selectively delivering electrical current to said PTCR cable.

An ice dam prevention and clearing system for use with gutters and downspouts mounted to a roof, said system comprising:

• a heating cable for generating heat upon receiving electrical current;
• a plurality of wire holding assemblies, each wire holding assembly comprising:
• a base clip having a generally inverted U-shaped configuration for releasably engaging a front panel of a gutter;
• an elongate arm having a plurality of telescopic sections, a first telescopic section being rotatably coupled to said base clip such that said arm is laterally movable for positioning said arm at a desired position on said roof;
• wherein said arm includes at least one fastener for retaining said heating cable;
• a control unit having a central processing unit (CPU) electrically connected to a power source and to said PTCR cable for selectively delivering electrical current to said heating cable;
• a moisture sensor positioned adjacent said heating cable for sensing the presence of moisture, said moisture sensor including means for delivering a moisture data signal to said CPU;
• a first temperature sensor positioned on said gutter adjacent said heating cable for sensing a temperature of said gutter, said first temperature sensor including means for delivering a first temperature data signal to said CPU;
• a second temperature sensor positioned on said roof adjacent said heating cable for sensing a temperature of said roof, said second temperature sensor including means for delivering a second temperature data signal said CPU;
• a selector switch positioned on said control unit that is pivotally movable between “Auto”, “Manual”, and “Timer” configurations;
• and
• means in said CPU for delivering current to said heating cable when said selector switch is in said “Auto” configuration and said moisture data signal is indicative of the presence of moisture and said first temperature data signal is indicative of a gutter temperature less than a predetermined gutter temperature and said second temperature data signal is indicative of a roof temperature greater than a predetermined roof temperature.