Safe temperature to leave a house.

[gilbaro]

Currently touching a lot of wood but have never turned off water in any house I have had since 1980s
No pipes in the roof and 20 year old combi boiler. We turn the heating off but it will come on if the stat gets down to 12 which it does regularly but usually only for a few minutes.
Electricity is also on as invariably something is recording on TV

 

[maison]

We used to leave ours set at 8°C until a heating engineer pointed out that, if we had good loft insulation, the heat at that level would not reach pipes in the roof space.

 

[Gromett]

Leave ours on frost protection 5 degreesC.

The problem with 5°C is that will the temperature in the room. Inside cupboards, under floorboards etc may be a lot colder and that is the risk.
I spoked to plumbers back when I first started motorhoming and they all said between 10°C and 15°C for this reason.

 

[Themselves]

I have underfloor heating with a separate controller for each room. We went way for 12 weeks last winter with each room set to 8 c. no problems .

 

[JockandRita]

We leave ours at 12c but if it turns really cold my nephew who lives 100 metres away will turn it up further
He comes in every day at 5pm to check the mail and fills in a diary with time and date just to confirm he’s been in
Any important mail he opens and WhatsApp us a photo

Same here Neil, ie, 12 x degrees. A neighbour who used to pop in and gather the mail and adjust the heating where necessary, sadly passed away, and no family anywhere near now.

I was previously inclined to turn the water off at the water meter and leave all the taps open. One winter I didn't leave the taps open, which was just as well, as Anglia Water sent a chap round to change the water meter outside, picked up on the Ring doorbell camera. He only turned the water on after fitting the new meter, which would have resulted in major flooding of the house, and a huge water bill into the bargain, had i left them open.

Cheers,

Jock.

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[F jimmy]

10c is the minimum temperature to keep mildew away

 

[LittleGreyCat]

If I remember correctly insurance insist on 11C.
Our thermostat has an "off" setting of 5C which we used to use.
We keep the MH at 7C parked on the drive hooked up to the electric, and have done for previous caravan and the MH before that.

 

[Neil S]

Same here Neil, ie, 12 x degrees. A neighbour who used to pop in and gather the mail and adjust the heating where necessary, sadly passed away, and no family anywhere near now.

I was previously inclined to turn the water off at the water meter and leave all the taps open. One winter I didn't leave the taps open, which was just as well, as Anglia Water sent a chap round to change the water meter outside, picked up on the Ring doorbell camera. He only turned the water on after fitting the new meter, which would have resulted in major flooding of the house, and a huge water bill into the bargain, had i left them open.

Cheers,

Jock.

Hi Jock/Rita hope your both well and will we see you on the Mosel in September

 

[JockandRita]

Hi Jock/Rita hope your both well and will we see you on the Mosel in September

Hello Neil.

It is too early to say, but as last year's trip was cancelled due to medical matters, hopefully we'll make it this year.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[gus-lopez]

as Anglia Water sent a chap round to change the water meter outside, picked up on the Ring doorbell camera. He only turned the water on after fitting the new meter,

I always turn off the drinking water when we go away & take the meter reading .This year when I returned they had changed the meter but left it as they found it, turned off.
Just had a thought. The bedroom I sleep in falls to 12º c or under during the night.

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[JockandRita]

Just had a thought. The bedroom I sleep in falls to 12º c or under during the night.

Too cold for me at night Richard.

Just checked my OVO App, and the gas heating has been on over the last couple of days, but obviously not for long.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Zentex]

Between 1989 and 2006, when our present house was our holiday home, it was left all winter completely unheated. I fitted very basic mercury max / min thermometers and found that they never went lower than 12 degrees centigrade; the same temperature as the water from our 10m deep well maintains all year round. We have 60cm thick stone walls which are insulated and dry lined on the inside. Our insurers require that the mains water is always turned off when the property is unoccupied but do not demand any minimum temperature is maintained. Our mains water pressure is about 5 bar so any water leak would be catastrophic!

I have the same home construction as you but in the North Pennines . Mine would definitely go to 0 C or below when we get these beasts from the East if i didnt set the hive for the combi at 5C, are you living in the Scilly Isles?

 

[MichaelT]

I tweaked mine to 6 deg.... chickened out at 5. .
All those leaving theirs at 15 deg will end up with big bills
We are in Spain now and it's 15 degs in the van ..nice

But our insurers insist on it being 15, ours seems to come on for around 1.5 hours a day on average since we've been away so don't think it's going to cost the earth. They also insist water is turned off.

 

[andyman]

I tweaked mine to 6 deg.... chickened out at 5. .
All those leaving theirs at 15 deg will end up with big bills
We are in Spain now and it's 15 degs in the van ..nice

Here's my use for January, stat set at 15 degrees while we've been in Spain.
I don't think £85 is bad.

 

[JockandRita]

Here's my use for January, stat set at 15 degrees while we've been in Spain.
I don't think £85 is bad.



View attachment 1007903

Ours is similar for both gas and electricity, with the temperature set at 12°C.

Without draining down completely. I refuse to go lower than 12°C, having witnessed first hand the devastation, ruin, and heartbreak that burst pipes and subsequent flooding can cause.

Jock.

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[Bolti]

My gas at 10 degrees

 

[Nirvanauk]

When away from home I leave ours at 15 degrees, don’t care about the cost just not taking the chance.

 

[stewartwebr]

We leave everything switched off, no heating in a very old Townhouse. We turn the water off and drain the system, we have no storage tanks. We have a very old heating system (1970s) which is very reliable but would not be suitable for electronic monitoring thermostat. A few years back when we had the system flushed, the radiators are old cast iron school type radiators the engineer suggested filling the system with anti freeze and we have it tested every 5 years. So far we have not had an issue, the house is checked by friends every few weeks and we monitor temperature via an electronic device connected to neighbours WiFi (with their permission) and even with temperatures as low as -8degrees C we never see the house drop below 2 or 3 degrees. I guess we get heat from the neighbours at each side If only we didn’t need to pay standing charge we would have very little bills other than electric for timers, CCTV and Alarm. The gas is zero as it’s never on. Other than insurance I would question the need to leave the heating on. We have been doing this for years and the house is in the chilly North.

 

[Gizmouk]

Our Landlord Insurance states that if a property is unoccupied, then the thermostat should be set to 15C.

 

[SpeedyDux]

Thanks so much for all replies. We have a thermostat that we can move around so I might move that to the kitchen where we have the most pipes. Leave the cupboard doors open to allow air flow.
We don’t have pipes or tanks in the loft but do turn off the water at the mains.

Just need to leave some doors open to help even out the temperatures without setting off the intruder alarm.

Might settle on 12degrees. We don’t have thermostats on all radiators but will fit some more upon our return.

What we have been doing this winter for an unoccupied house:

Room thermostat 12C, CH on 24h. (Insurance policy "advises" 12-14C during unoccupancy)
All radiator thermostats set on max. (turning them down to frost setting stops the CH doing its job)
Loft hatch half open. (exposed pipes and tank in loft. Which is too well insulated!)
All internal doors slightly ajar. (Allows air to circulate and helps prevent condensation, damp, and mould)
Kitchen cupboards with pipework inside left slightly open. (pipes that otherwise might freeze)
Water off at the mains.
Gas and electric left on.
Fridge off. No food or other waste, even in kitchen bin, that might attract mice or rats.
Periodic visits (insurance requirement) to check all is well and collect post. Date stamped photos taken of the interior and exterior for insurance purposes, as proof of visits and good condition of the house, just in case.

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[andyman]

Ours is similar for both gas and electricity, with the temperature set at ⁸
Without draining down completely. I refuse to go lower than 12°C, having witnessed first hand the devastation, ruin, and heartbreak that burst pipes and subsequent flooding can cause.

Jock.

Seen it happen to a neighbour last January. Christmas time they were bragging about a med cruise in the new year. Of they went with the heating turned off, and the water turned on.
There daughter came round the day they were coming home to turn the heating on. 4 ceilings hanging down and a lot of damage.
They only got part payment from the insurance.

 

[the1andonly]

There appears to be an amazing concensus of extreame risk aversion. ANyone not have insurance so they dont have to worry about what insurance companies want. How many make bogus claims to get something back (dont answer that ) . If away for more than 3 days heating is off (weather forecast permitting) A son/ friend is always close enough if Beast from east is on its way.

 

[varaizian]

I have the same home construction as you but in the North Pennines . Mine would definitely go to 0 C or below when we get these beasts from the East if i didnt set the hive for the combi at 5C, are you living in the Scilly Isles?

No, the Charente Maritime in western France near Cognac. It is very frosty overnight at the moment but generally warms up nicely in the daytime. We are probably 800 or 900 miles south of you! I'm sure it is beautiful where you live but probably easier here in winter.

 

[JockandRita]

There appears to be an amazing concensus of extreame risk aversion. ANyone not have insurance so they dont have to worry about what insurance companies want. How many make bogus claims to get something back (dont answer that ) . If away for more than 3 days heating is off (weather forecast permitting) A son/ friend is always close enough if Beast from east is on its way.

As said previously, having witnessed first hand, (in a professional capacity) the devastation, ruin, and heartbreak as a result of frozen pipes and subsequent flooding, there is no way I want to.put Rita and I through that. We have worked bleddy hard for what we have, and intend to protect our investment as much as we can against the elements.

I personally would never advocate anyone not insuring their property, nor taking measures to prevent potential damage due to either the extremeties of weather, or the totally unexpected............cos you just never know now, do you?

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[L' Hobo]

Everyone and his friends, including a couple of plumbers, said I couldn't/shouldn't do it BUT, in 2000 ( when I was away for winter) I changed the liquid in my enclosed Combi boiler water system, ( no pipes in attic) from water to premium longline anitifreeze and distilled water.

I now, when away and the stopcock turned off, just leave the heating on in rooms and open door cupboards that contain insulated cold water pipes ( about half the house) and I set the thermostat to come on in these area every alternate hours (eg 12hrs a day) at 20C.

So far, I have had no problems despite being away for weeks in the coldest months.

I thought, IF it works in my vehicles which stand outside, why shouldn't it work in my house.

PS. I will be renewing my antifreeze and distilled water ( which includes inhibitors) again next year and disposing of it a the same place as my vehicle antifreeze.

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[Minxy]

Everyone and his friends, including a couple of plumbers, said I couldn't/shouldn't do it BUT, in 2000 ( when I was away for winter) I changed the liquid in my enclosed Combi boiler water system, ( no pipes in attic) from water to premium longline anitifreeze and distilled water.

I now, when away and the stopcock turned off, just leave the heating on in rooms and open door cupboards that contain insulated cold water pipes ( about half the house) and I set the thermostat to come on in these area every alternate hours (eg 12hrs a day) at 20C.

So far, I have had no problems despite being away for weeks in the coldest months.

I thought, IF it works in my vehicles which stand outside, why shouldn't it work in my house.

PS. I will be renewing my antifreeze and distilled water ( which includes inhibitors) again next year and disposing of it a the same place as my vehicle antifreeze.

You must have a high heating bill! We turn our water off with heating on 3 times a day for a total of 4 hours at 12 degrees. We live up north in a 200+ old detached bungalow and are away over winter for a max of 10 weeks and never had an issue.

 

[L' Hobo]

You must have a high heating bill! We turn our water off with heating on 3 times a day for a total of 4 hours at 12 degrees. We live up north in a 200+ old detached bungalow and are away over winter for a max of 10 weeks and never had an issue.

With a Combi Boiler, no water is heated until someone turns on a hot tap, so no heat wasted there and, as my combined gas & electricity standing order is £75 a month and always in credit, it could be worse.

PS. I have stopped going abroad now in winter now I'm nearly 80, so have also saved a chuck of money there.

 

[Minxy]

With a Combi Boiler, no water is heated until someone turns on a hot tap, so no heat wasted there and, as my combined gas & electricity standing order is £75 a month and always in credit, it could be worse.

But what about your home heating bill? Have you checked to see what it's actually costing you rather than your monthly SO?

 

[L' Hobo]

But what about your home heating bill? Have you checked to see what it's actually costing you rather than your monthly SO?

Yes, it's actually, combined, about £60 per month average which is the reason it's still in the black in June and starting, once again to accumulate for next winter.

 

[Ratcatcher]

We have an air source heat pump and to maintain 15’ at the moment it is costing at least £6 per day, £212 for January alone!
System was installed for free along with solar panels using a Welsh government grant nearly 2 years ago, last winter we left the heating much lower, came home to moulding lots of areas, after research decided to set it at 15’
When we are home we have a log burner, and due to various storms over the last few years have a garden with far less trees and a stock of wood to last at least 5 or 6 years.

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