But while a lower temperature may reduce your heating bill, it could mean disaster if a cold temperatures hit, and your pipes freeze and burst. This doesn't mean you have to keep your house as warm as normal — any temperature 55 degrees or higher is appropriate to keep your pipes safe.
To prevent pipes from freezing, it's often recommended to keep your home temperature at least 55°F (13°C) or higher, especially in areas where pipes are located near exterior walls, in unheated spaces, or in attics and basements.
Keep the Heat On
The ideal temperature would be around 55 to 60 degrees. This will be warm enough to keep pipes from freezing.
Pipes can freeze about 32, best bet is to keep it between 40-50 just to be safe. Get a WiFi stat to give you an alert if the temp dips below, then you may have enough time to address the issue if your furnace fails.
Keep the heat on.
If you are planning on leaving your home for an extended period of time, make sure to leave the heat on. The heat does not have to be kept as high as you would keep it if you were home, but setting it above 50 degrees should prevent any water inside the pipes from freezing.
Your pipes are at risk of freezing any time temperatures drop below 32°F. However, it's much more common for pipes to freeze when temperatures dip below 20°F. The longer the weather remains below freezing, the more likely it is your pipes can freeze if not properly protected and winterized.
Recommended Temperature When the Home is Vacant
For short periods of time away, like going to work, we'd recommend a temperature of around 55 – 60 degrees (F). While away on long periods of time, such as vacation, we don't recommend setting the temperature any lower than 50 degrees (F).
What Temperature Will Cause My Pipes to Freeze? Pipes run the risk of freezing at temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, especially if they're not insulated, but most insulated pipes start to freeze at 20 degrees Fahrenheit or below.
The best winter thermostat setting is 62 to 68 degrees. On winter days, program your home's thermostat to 68 degrees for a comfortable indoor temperature while you're home and awake. When sleeping, program your thermostat to 62 degrees. Consider rolling this temperature back to 55 degrees when no one is home.
68 to 72 degrees is a temperature range that is not too warm or cool, and is sufficient enough to warm up the home just enough so that everyone is comfortable regardless of the type of clothing they have on.
Prevent Frozen Pipes
Moving water keeps pipes from freezing. Find shut off valves for emergencies. Insulate pipes in unheated areas. Open cupboards and vanities to warm pipes.
The U.S. government Department of Energy (DOE) states that people should set their thermostats to 68 degrees F. This is the optimal temperature for keeping a home comfortable.
To do so, he advises, 'Turn your taps on just enough to drip,' and leave them dripping until the temperature outside consistently stays above freezing. This is typically when the weather forecast indicates that the daytime and nighttime temperatures will stay above 32°F (0°C).
Don't turn your thermostat down below 65 degrees during extreme cold. Further drops in temperature could be enough to cause a problem, especially inside walls where pipes are located. Your heating bill may go up a little, but that's better than an expensive repair job if a pipe freezes and bursts.
No matter the strength of a container, expanding water can cause pipes to break. Pipes that freeze most frequently are: Pipes that are exposed to severe cold, like outdoor hose bibs, swimming pool supply lines, and water sprinkler lines.
'Although it might not seem like a big deal, leaving your attic door or hatch open during freezing weather can help to prevent a whole host of home maintenance issues, such as preventing ice dams on roofs, frozen pipes, and mold growth,' begins Jay Sanders, contractor and owner of Castle Dream Construction.
But don't take it from us, take it from the World Health Organization: They recommend a temperature of at least 64°… and raising that to at least 70° if there are babies, elderly people, or otherwise immunocompromised people in the home.
Regardless of how long you will be traveling and away from home, keep your thermostat set at 68 degrees Fahrenheit or above. This will help to keep the pipes on the inside of the home from freezing and the ones under the home at a slightly higher temperature as well.
It's advisable to keep your home below 80 degrees throughout the summer. A house that's too warm can be dangerous to people, pets, and the soft surfaces in your home. Set the winter temperature to 68 degrees when you're awake and 62 degrees when you're sleeping.
In general, it's recommended to set your thermostat to 55 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. This may seem high compared to the freezing point of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, but it'll help keep the interior of the floor and wall cavities – where your plumbing is often located – safely above freezing temperatures.
We all know that freezing begins at 32° F or 0° C, but at what point do pipes freeze within our own homes? Temperatures only need to drop to about 20° F for a few hours to put exposed pipes at risk. So, your best bet is to insulate your exposed pipes to keep that temperature well above the freezing point.
What's The Lowest Temperature I Can Set My Thermostat in Winter? Do you just love the cold so much you'd rather not run any heat in winter? The winter thermostat setting should at minimum be between 50-55 degrees to keep your appliances and pipes from freezing.
If you will be gone for an extended length of time, even setting your home's heat temperatures to 50-degrees will provide enough heat for internal pipes to keep them from freezing in your absence.
Keeping your home warm in the winter is essential for one's comfort and also to keep pipes from freezing. However, you should be mindful of energy consumption as well. According to the Department of Energy, the optimal temperature setting for homes during freezing weather is 68 °F.
There may be drafts and pockets of colder air near the floor; The walls are colder and don't emit the usual amount of infrared radiation, so you lose heat due to your body emitting more IR than it receives; You may spend more time indoors and hence have less physical activity, so your body generates less heat.