Dennis Duce has been roofing in the Park City area for over 15 years. In that time he’s seen a lot of ice dams and says he’s come to really understand their “anatomy.” Having a perfect understanding of what causes them, he invented a new method of prevention.
The SubDynoMelt and its sister product SubHydroMelt go underneath roof shingles instead of on top of them. This allows for more effective and energy-efficient melting along the eaves without damaging esthetics, he explained.
Unable to develop the product on his own, Duce partnered with his employer, Nielco Roofing. He is the vice president of sales and marketing for the new company, Sol-Ice Engineered Systems. Nielco is an installer of the products, as are a few other local companies, Duce explained.
SubDynoMelt uses 38 percent less electricity than its competitors on the surface of the room. Even better, he said, that amount of energy also prevents ice on five times the surface area.
Another way to explain it, he said, is that his product heats one foot of roof for 35 watts. Heat cables use 48 watts to heat nine inches.
The SubHydroMelt if connected to a home’s boiler is 90 percent more efficient than its sister product. It is uses one-tenth the electricity of its competitors, he said.
Thermal imaging also reveals both products dispense a more even layer of heat on a roof than competitors, he added.
Duce met the vice president of business development, Chris Piper, while working with him on a project.
Piper was helping build the Montage Deer Valley and realized the plans for the roof would not prevent icicles or ice dams. He hired Nielco Roofing for help and was introduced to Duce. Even though the Sol-Ice products had only been used on one other Summit County structure at the time, Duce convinced the builders his product was the right way to go.
Piper and Duce said the product was the same or cheaper to install, cost less to operate and went under, not on, the roof.
“People weren’t happy with the status quo, but being invisible makes it a real seller,” Duce said.
The builders of the hotel were not interested in being a guinea pig, Piper said. Their acceptance of the Sol-Ice products speaks highly for its competitive edge. The products’ superior qualities are also what convinced him to join the company.
“I’ve seen a lot of properties with problems and I’ve done a lot of ‘bandages,'” Piper said. “Some products only go after icicles. I saw that while managing properties in the Sierras. We could take care of the icicles, but then in spring owners complained about it being wet behind the walls.”
The product is working wonderfully at Montage, and Sol-Ice products have been installed in several more structures since, Duce explained.
More products are under development, he added. Although SubDynoMelt generates heat, the SubHydroMelt disperses it. Temperature dispersal technology can give many benefits to a home, he said. One of the most exciting innovations is solar thermal siding. It was used in one of the 2010 Showcase of Homes exhibits.
Sol-Ice Engineered Solutions
136 Heber Ave. Ste 204
435-565-1423
www.sol-ice.com
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