Shutting down a house - complety or minimul heat ?

ScottMP

I have passed this info on to my customer. I felt the same way and have had the same experience.

Scott

<A HREF="http://www.heatinghelp.com/getListed.cfm?id=237&Step=30">To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"</A>

ScottMP

My customer wants to shutoff his house for the winter

It’s a large house and very nice. He has forced hot air.

I have told him that beyond winterizing the plumbing, we should leave one of the hot air systems on 50° and shut off the others. This should keep a minimal heat in the home, not allowing it to go deep freeze.

Your thoughts??

Scott

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

John Starcher_4

Scott, I think.....

...I can speak from a standpoint of authority on this since my firm does around 400 winterizations every fall.

Some of our clients leave the heat on at a low setting, and some shut everything off. Many of the homes are just little cottages, with few "nice" interiors. Many of them, though, have been completely refurbished with top, or near top of the line accouterments.

We have definitely seen the toll taken on the houses with no heat in them all winter. Cracks in drywall, musty odors, mildew, mold, you name it. Is it bad all at once? No, but over the years it seems to become an additive process.

We always recommend leaving SOME heat on, even if it's minimal, to prevent moisture from impregnating things where it has no business being. Fuel costs become an issue, for sure, but so do repair bills correcting the damage that occurs from not having any heat.

Just my $.02 and humble opinion.

Starch

Brad White_200

Good point, Starch

That seems to be a good rationale, the slow deterioration. I wonder if in addition to (or in lieu of) a low temperature, that a high relative humidity sensor might also play a role?

Not to complicate things, but the mold issue got me thinking.