A question for snowbirds
 

We will be moving to TV late this year, and don't expect our house will be sold before then. We are moving from Indianapolis, a cold weather winter location. What is a good temperature to set on the thermostat for the winter, while we are not there? Thanks.

We keep our house in MI at 50 degrees for the winter. A home check gal looks in on it once a week to make sure all is ok. Going on 7-8 yrs?

I dew 55

50 degrees is fine ... my neighbor back home has a device in his northern home that contacts him by phone if there is a power outage, if the temp drops below 45 degrees of if water is running.

55 is the recommended temp, but 50 is just fine. However, if you happen to have a manufactured home (I know, not in your case since you purchased in Hillsborough), definitely 55.

I have an alarm on my NY house which calls three numbers in the event of a power failure, low temp (45 degrees or lower) or water in basement. I have it call my plumber, who is a good friend and has a key to my house, my daughter and me. I mounted the unit inside the house but on an outside wall. The first year I set my thermostat at 50. Early one bitterly cold morning my alarm went off. My plumber and my daughter drove to our house and found nothing wrong with my boiler. It seems that the way my alarm is mounted on an outside wall that the 50 degree thermostat setting was too low. They moved it up to 55 and I haven't had a false alarm problem in the 4 years since then. Last winter the alarm went off but I actually had a problem with my boiler. Again my trusty plumber responded and repaired the defect with the boiler. That alarm, which cost me about $100 online, was worth every penny I paid for it.

I would go 55 if you have no areas where pipes could freeze. Basement, pipes in outside walls etc.
Turn off water. Open inside and outside faucets.
Drain hot water tank and turn off.
Flush toilets.

We used one of those I bought on Amazon. If I got an alarm I could call our realtor to check things out. Luckily only had to use it once.

We moved to Hillsborough from Fishers in August. When we used to come to Florida in the winter months we kept the house at 55. Never had a problem.

We also have a whole house generator that kicks in if we lose power.

What type of alarm do you have, what is it called? I would like one to monitor for any water leaks. Thanks

I agree 50 to 55 degrees is best. We keep ours at 55 and if your house is well insulated it is not likely to drop below 50 inside unless there is an extended cold snap.

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We ran a resort with a lot of cottages to get ready for winter. Those with the power left on was set at 55 but only in the basement or crawl space where the pipes are. All water upstairs was turned off and we put anti-freeze in the toilet and drains. In 20 years (Canada) we had no problem. Protect the foundation and pipes.

My alarm is called Reliance Controls THP201 Automatic Phone Out Alarm with 3 Functions. It is available on Amazon for $87.99 with free shipping. I think this price is a few bucks less than I paid a few years ago.