[Mistybuffy3]

Coming for the first time for three months this year, much anxiety over how to close up my home .up north. Some say leave heat on 62 and all should be ok, others say blow out the water lines and put in antifreeze. Not sure what is better, would be easier to just leave heat on low. Opinions? What are other things I should do before leAving? Thanks

[Fredman]

Turn temp down to 57 drain water lines but do not put in anti-freeze turn off hot water tank. If possible have someone check your home once a week. [B]DO NOT USE ANTI FREEZE. Put saran wrap under toilet seat so water doesnt evaporate. If you have cable tv put it on vacation no sense paying for something you are not using.

[Tom52]

I set the thermostat to 60 degrees, then place a security camera in a position that the exterior doors can be monitored. Right in front of the camera is a large thermometer so anytime I check the camera remotely I can also confirm the furnace is working. I do not have one of those wifi thermostats that can be monitored remotely. I turn off the hot water heater (electric) and shut off the water where it comes into the house, then open a tap in the basement to insure there is no water pressure. I pour some water into the basement floor drains and I also add RV antifreeze into bowl and tanks in all toilets. I don't worry about the basement flooding as it has never flooded, the sump pumps don't run in the winter as the ground outside is frozen. I leave a key for the neighbor if there would be a problem. I can't stop my cable as I need the Wi-Fi to keep working so the security camera can be monitored. I have a mechanical timer set up on our modem so that it gets automatically rebooted every 24 hours. Once in a while there is some sort of hiccup with our cable connection that requires manually rebooting the modem.

[vintageogauge]

Open the cabinet doors under all of your sinks that are on outside walls to allow heat to circulate. Same with your dishwasher if on an outside wall.

[BRN_RI_FL]

We use two Nest security cameras and one thermostat in our RI home. One camera is mounted so we can see the front doors and the other we have in the basement. We can check the temperature and adjust the heat via the Nest thermostat on our iPhone software. We have hot water heat so we had a plumber add antifreeze to the heating system and he also added a larger expansion tank. This fall was the first time we’ve shut off the water prior to leaving. We have our three children take turns checking the place every two weeks during non heating months and every week during heating months. During our recent trip to the Villages we had a moth in our basement. We would occasionally get an email alert that the Nest camera picked up movement when the moth flew by. We also get alerts sometimes when hot water is moving through the heating pipes making noise or if the sun shines through the windows. The Nest cameras, of course, also send alerts if voices are heard or people are seen. We pay $15 a month so that the cameras are recording all they are seeing (for 10 days) so we can review the audio/video prompting the alert. We cancel the recording when we are up north. We arrange for grass cutting and snow plowing. It’s a pain having two houses.

[GoPacers]

The easiest is to leave the heat at 62, lock the doors and enjoy Florida. Having someone walk through the house once every 14 days to run water in all drains (sinks/showers) and flush the toilets to ensure the traps don't evaporate is about all you need to do (and even that is probably not critical). A Wi-Fi enabled thermostat will give you piece of mind that the furnace is running as expected and even allow you to adjust the indoor temperature if needed. Depending on where you're coming from that could still be a reasonable heating bill but it's the easiest and most likely the best approach for your house. While not critical but for added confidence, if you're on a well - turn off the well pump and hot water heater. If you are not on a well but can easily get to the water main turn that off and the hot water heater. The water would need to be turned back on to run water in the drains - and then turned off again. If you have an instant hot water heater in your kitchen (or other) be sure to turn that off.

Draining pipes and lowering the temperature to a point where freezing can occur is a much more challenging approach depending on your house (slab, crawl or basement) and how low the temperatures get where you come from. If you've got a crawl space with pipes you'll need to be very careful. You never really know if you've gotten all the water out of all the lines and there will be some trepidation when you turn everything back on. I agree with the other posts, do NOT put antifreeze in any of your water lines.

Leaving the heat at 62 will cost the most over the winter but may actually be the least expensive in the long run. Houses don't like extreme temperature changes.

Welcome to Florida!!!

[graciegirl]

Sell the Northern house. Move here full time.

[Mosells]

ditto to all that was said. In addition unplug all electronics tv etc in case of power goes out. Yes even if you have surges protectors.

[Laker14]

I'm in OP's boat, also doing this for the first time. I will turn of main water valve, and have someone drain and blow out the water lines. they will drain the hot water tank. They will put antifreeze in the traps. We will set the thermostats for 50F. Someone will be checking the house weekly.

We live on a lake in NY State, and I'd estimate 80% of the places on the lake close up for the winter, and this is pretty standard practice around here, and lots of folks available who know how to do this.

[Bay Kid]

We use heat pumps in Virginia. I leave my temperature set at 70. Almost the same amount of energy to keep a constant temperature. I shut the water off and turn off the hot water heater. Two cameras to enjoy the sunrises over the Chesapeake Bay until my return. Play golf in TV until warm enough to return home!

[rjm1cc]

Stop deliveries and ask a neighbor to pick up any stray deliveries. You have some excellent suggestions.

[PaulDenise]

Acu-Rite sells thermometers that talk to a base station that is connected to your internet. All for under $100.

You can watch the temperatures on your phone while you are down here. If it seems that the temps are not holding 62 (or whatever), you can ask someone to go check your house.

Then use the same setup down here while leaving the A/C at 80 degrees, when you head back up north.

I also have a couple of wifi cameras. Between the temps and pix, you have a good sense of what is going on in an unoccupied house.

[Gpsma]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Sell the Northern house. Move here full time.

As usual...the best advice...

[vintageogauge]

Originally Posted by Tom52

I set the thermostat to 60 degrees, then place a security camera in a position that the exterior doors can be monitored. Right in front of the camera is a large thermometer so anytime I check the camera remotely I can also confirm the furnace is working. I do not have one of those wifi thermostats that can be monitored remotely. I turn off the hot water heater (electric) and shut off the water where it comes into the house, then open a tap in the basement to insure there is no water pressure. I pour some water into the basement floor drains and I also add RV antifreeze into bowl and tanks in all toilets. I don't worry about the basement flooding as it has never flooded, the sump pumps don't run in the winter as the ground outside is frozen. I leave a key for the neighbor if there would be a problem. I can't stop my cable as I need the Wi-Fi to keep working so the security camera can be monitored. I have a mechanical timer set up on our modem so that it gets automatically rebooted every 24 hours. Once in a while there is some sort of hiccup with our cable connection that requires manually rebooting the modem.

We came from Northern Ohio and found out the hard way that sump Pumps do run in the winter. Our home was up for sale and the realtor had a Mid February showing, when went into the finished basement to put on the lights and walked in water. The sump pump broke and the basement was flooded all while the outside ground was frozen, another insurance claim while down here. Those pumps are well below the freeze line and there is water down there.

[thelegges]

We have a full time home sitter. Never any worries. We do have cameras in garage, basement, doors.

Having two homes one in TV and one up north is no different than when we had a cottage up north, an our main house.

We love spending the summers at the lake