topic Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts? in Electronics

Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

Marybella — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 22:08:42 GMT

I go away in the winter on occasion for a week or two at a time. It is always a worry about freezing pipes in case of the furnace going out. Does anyone use one of these wireless monitors that will text or email you if the temperature drops below a set number?

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

glb613 — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 22:26:22 GMT

Why not drain your pipes and shut off the water? That's what I do when I go away in the winter.

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

Marybella — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 22:47:24 GMT

We have a hot water heating system that would cost too much to have the plumbers drain each time we go away. My husband doesn't trust that he would do a complete enough job, himself.

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

glb613 — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 23:33:05 GMT

That's too bad. Sorry I don't know of a device to warn if the power goes out and the house gets cold. If you find one, post back.

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

Sweetbay magnolia — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 00:25:49 GMT

Do you just turn off the water main valve (inside the house) and open up the faucets, gib613? And turn off the breaker for the hot water heater?

I guess even if the power goes off and there is no one home, well, there is no one home.

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

Marybella — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 00:45:44 GMT

On 12/9/2014 glb613 said:
That's too bad. Sorry I don't know of a device to warn if the power goes out and the house gets cold. If you find one, post back.

They exist, but I was hoping that someone here had experience with one that they liked. We are considering ditching the land line because all we get are robo-calls all day long, so a wireless alert system would be a great comfort!

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

ValuSkr — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 03:40:01 GMT

The wireless monitors are a great idea but would they work if the power went out?

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

Meeras — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 03:54:24 GMT

great idea..

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

faeriemoon — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 03:56:42 GMT

We have one in our summer home at the Cape. The heating company monitors it wirelessly and contacts us if there is an issue.

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

Marybella — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 04:05:51 GMT

On 12/9/2014 ValuSkr said:
The wireless monitors are a great idea but would they work if the power went out?

Probably not, but we have an automatic-start generator, so it might not be an issue, unless the monitor must be manually re-started. No set-up is fool-proof.

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

Marybella — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 04:07:15 GMT

On 12/9/2014 faeriemoon said:
We have one in our summer home at the Cape. The heating company monitors it wirelessly and contacts us if there is an issue.

Is there a charge for them to monitor it for you? Not sure if our plumbing and heating company does this. Something to check on.

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

Still Raining — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 04:58:48 GMT

They have thermostats which will email you when the temperature is out of a range. You can also use your phone to turn the heat on and off.

But of you are out of the area and the furnace goes off (by breaking or a power outage?) I am not sure this would help. Perhaps you need someone to check in physically?

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

151949 — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 05:06:28 GMT

We have one that will call DH's cell phone if the temperature goes outside of certain parameters, or if the electric goes off. It plugs into the phone jack and an outlet but has battery back up.

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

glb613 — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 13:32:20 GMT

On 12/9/2014 Still Raining said:
They have thermostats which will email you when the temperature is out of a range. You can also use your phone to turn the heat on and off.

But of you are out of the area and the furnace goes off (by breaking or a power outage?) I am not sure this would help. Perhaps you need someone to check in physically?

I was going to post the same thing. I turn off the water and drain the pipes. I also have friend/neighbors with keys to check on things while I'm gone.

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

faeriemoon — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 14:46:20 GMT

On 12/9/2014 Marybella said:
On 12/9/2014 faeriemoon said:
We have one in our summer home at the Cape. The heating company monitors it wirelessly and contacts us if there is an issue.

Is there a charge for them to monitor it for you? Not sure if our plumbing and heating company does this. Something to check on.

Yes, there is a charge. We chose to use their services because they would be the ones to go to the house if there were a problem. (We are 3 1/2 hours away.)

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

ID2 — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 14:55:58 GMT

We invested in a thermostat that we can remotely use. We're able to see and adjust the furnace in our cottage up north. We used to drain the pipes and totally winterize our old cottage but now that we rebuilt, we keep the heat on low during the winter months. It barely costs anything. Love being able to view my app on my phone and see what the temp is, if the furnace is running, or turn the heat up or down. Technology is great!

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

sipp — Sat, 13 Dec 2014 07:23:34 GMT

We live in a cold climate and they do not suggest that you drain your pipes- rather turn the thermostat down and leave a slight drip in the faucet on the lower level of the house.

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

sunshine45 — Sat, 13 Dec 2014 07:53:41 GMT

On 12/9/2014 Sweetbay magnolia said:
Do you just turn off the water main valve (inside the house) and open up the faucets, gib613? And turn off the breaker for the hot water heater?

I guess even if the power goes off and there is no one home, well, there is no one home.

that is what we do at our vacation home from october through may......the main water valve gets turned off, the water heater gets turned off, the drains are opened, and the heater stays set at 50 degrees. we do go down in the off season, but each time we leave we do this again.

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

NanciJ — Sat, 13 Dec 2014 08:27:30 GMT

Our security system for our house has a separate thermostat that sets an alarm off if the house temps reach a certain temp, both high and low, and alerts the company. They in turn contact us by phone, the same as if there was a break in attempt. We also have a sensor next to our water heaters, that detects water issues, if the water heaters leak or a pipe leaks in our utility room. The alarm goes off then, too, and they call us. The system monitors smoke, etc , of course and lowers our home owners insurance.

Re: Wireless home temperature monitor with alerts?

glb613 — Sat, 13 Dec 2014 12:41:39 GMT

On 12/9/2014 Sweetbay magnolia said:
Do you just turn off the water main valve (inside the house) and open up the faucets, gib613? And turn off the breaker for the hot water heater?

I guess even if the power goes off and there is no one home, well, there is no one home.

I turn off the main valve (in my basement), drain all of the faucets, turn down the hot water heater and set the thermostat to 55 degrees. If you winterize your place, there is a special antifreeze you pour into the toilets and sinks. I don't do that because I'm not gone that long.

Pipes burst when they are filled with water then freeze. The water damage happens when they unfreeze and the water is flowing into walls and floors. Monitoring the temperature won't do you any good if you don't have someone to check your house while your gone.