Vacant house in NC - what temp to leave heat on ?

[lecach]

We havent sold our home in Durham NC. It's vacant now. We want to set the heat low - just enough to keep the pipes okay. But not really concerned about comfort level. Our realtor lives in the same neighborhood so she could turn it up before a showing (which are few and far between). What level should our heat be at?

 

[golfgal]

Most thermostats only go so low, usually around 55, which is sufficient. If you have any pipes that are prone to freezing, I would wrap those just in case but you don't really get the freezing temps we get up here.

 

[tiggerlover]

If it were me, I would set the thermostat to 65 degrees.

 

[tiggerlover]

I also wanted to say good luck on the sale of your home.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

I was thinking 60, give or take a few degrees.

 

[NCRedding]

We live close to Durham and held onto an empty office (which was an old house) for 3 winters (from 2006-2008). Thank goodness we didn't have to keep it heated during last winter which was pretty cold. We kept the thermostat set on 55 degrees and had no problems with broken pipes, etc.

Good luck with your sale.

 

[Meriweather]

We are setting our empty house at 55.....we are also turning the water off.

 

[C.Ann]

Is there a reason why you prefer not to just shut the water off and drain the pipes, hot water heater, etc.?

If so, 55 should really be sufficient.. Is there a trusted neighbor or someone who could kick it up a few notches if there happened to be some really bizarre cold snap?

Barring anything extremely unusual, I think you're safe at 55 degrees..

 

[PrincessBelle09]

Is it even going to get cold in NC this year? I go to school in Chapel Hill and it's felt like summer all semester (until this week). =)

I would err on the side of caution and leave it at 60-65 degrees to keep the pipes safe. The system will also not have to work as hard before a showing, which should help even out the electric cost of being cautious.

 

[golfgal]

Water freezes at 32 degrees, 55 degrees is WELL above that. Heck, we don't even keep our house at 65 (at night) when we are LIVING here, in MINNESOTA.

 

[snapppyd]

We leave our vacation home in NJ on 52-55 when we are not there, even in winter. Never had a problem with the pipes. 65 is wasting way too much energy.

 

[redlight]

55, even 50, should be fine.

 

[scrapquitler]

We leave our vacation home in Vermont at 50 degrees when we are not there. The only time we have ever had a problem with pipes freezing is when the outside temperature is at least 10 below zero, and I doubt that you'll have that happen in North Carolina