We have a mid-terraced house that's going to be stood empty for a few
months. It's suffered a bit from dampness in the past so I think we
should keep the heating on to some degree now that we're coming into
the colder months, but what's the best way of doing it? An hour in the
morning, an hour at night? Programmer/thermostat set to 'off' all day
but rely on a minimum temp to switch it on if necessary? And if that's
the best, what values for min/max (I think it's currently set for a min
of 11C and a max of 12C). Or some other method entirely?

Dave has brought this to us :
We have a mid-terraced house that's going to be stood empty for a few months.
It's suffered a bit from dampness in the past so I think we should keep the
heating on to some degree now that we're coming into the colder months, but
what's the best way of doing it? An hour in the morning, an hour at night?
Programmer/thermostat set to 'off' all day but rely on a minimum temp to
switch it on if necessary? And if that's the best, what values for min/max (I
think it's currently set for a min of 11C and a max of 12C). Or some other
method entirely?

I would suggest setting the thermostat for 5C, to prevent pipes
freezing and run continuously. If there is damp, I would consider
installing a dehumidifier, with a built in humidistat and a permanent
drain.

On 10/24/2016 4:40 PM, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Dave has brought this to us :
We have a mid-terraced house that's going to be stood empty for a few
months. It's suffered a bit from dampness in the past so I think we
should keep the heating on to some degree now that we're coming into
the colder months, but what's the best way of doing it? An hour in the
morning, an hour at night? Programmer/thermostat set to 'off' all day
but rely on a minimum temp to switch it on if necessary? And if that's
the best, what values for min/max (I think it's currently set for a
min of 11C and a max of 12C). Or some other method entirely?

I would suggest setting the thermostat for 5C, to prevent pipes freezing
and run continuously. If there is damp, I would consider installing a
dehumidifier, with a built in humidistat and a permanent drain.

Sounds good to me. You could leave the loft hatch open if there are any
concerns about water in the loft. Perhaps turn off the water stop tap.
Could perhaps go a couple of degrees cooler if you are confident about
the thermostat. Sufficiently modern boilers tend to have their own frost
protection.

On 24/10/2016 16:52, Huge wrote:

We also switched off the water and drained down the plumbing.


You can drain the water storage tank in the loft, but not the hot water
cylinder. Well, not at all easily, usually. There's no really good
reason for that. They all have drain cocks at the bottom, but not
normally with anything connected. Of course, you're meant to fit a hose.
Some homes are drained down often, eg holiday homes, and they could have
the drain cock plumbed in.

On 10/24/2016 3:37 PM, Dave wrote:
We have a mid-terraced house that's going to be stood empty for a few
months. It's suffered a bit from dampness in the past so I think we
should keep the heating on to some degree now that we're coming into the
colder months, but what's the best way of doing it? An hour in the
morning, an hour at night? Programmer/thermostat set to 'off' all day
but rely on a minimum temp to switch it on if necessary? And if that's
the best, what values for min/max (I think it's currently set for a min
of 11C and a max of 12C). Or some other method entirely?

Check what your insurance company requires - mine insists that heating
be kept at no lower than 15C.

On Monday, 24 October 2016 15:37:28 UTC+1, Dave wrote:

We have a mid-terraced house that's going to be stood empty for a few
months. It's suffered a bit from dampness in the past so I think we
should keep the heating on to some degree now that we're coming into
the colder months, but what's the best way of doing it? An hour in the
morning, an hour at night? Programmer/thermostat set to 'off' all day
but rely on a minimum temp to switch it on if necessary? And if that's
the best, what values for min/max (I think it's currently set for a min
of 11C and a max of 12C). Or some other method entirely?

With warm neighbours both sides you won't need heating unless it's in an exceptionally cold area.


NT

On 24/10/2016 15:37, Dave wrote:

We have a mid-terraced house that's going to be stood empty for a few
months. It's suffered a bit from dampness in the past so I think we
should keep the heating on to some degree now that we're coming into the
colder months, but what's the best way of doing it? An hour in the
morning, an hour at night? Programmer/thermostat set to 'off' all day
but rely on a minimum temp to switch it on if necessary? And if that's

If it is unoccupied then the best strategy might well be to have the
heating come on in the middle of the night to help counteract the
coldest external temperatures around 4am and again in the early evening.
During daytime the feeble sun will provide some input.

the best, what values for min/max (I think it's currently set for a min
of 11C and a max of 12C). Or some other method entirely?

You could probably safely set the max to 9C and leave a couple of
degrees above the frost stat which should be checked at 5C. I'm a bit
nervous of going too low since it will be the very coldest spot(s) in
the house that might freeze if you cut it too fine.

Your insurance policy may specify other limits whilst unoccupied or
require a full drain down for winter.

You might want to check the pipe and tank insulation in the loft. Make
sure there is no bare metal for drafts to play upon.

I saw the result of one of the severe winters on an unoccupied flat once
- spectacular flood when the outer door failed. Not good!!

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On Mon, 24 Oct 2016 17:40:05 +0100, Martin Brown
wrote:


You could probably safely set the max to 9C and leave a couple of
degrees above the frost stat which should be checked at 5C. I'm a bit
nervous of going too low since it will be the very coldest spot(s) in
the house that might freeze if you cut it too fine.



Agreed. 9 or 10 deg is needed. 5 deg is no use for an internal frost
stat.

The pipes that froze at a house I worked at few years ago were the
pipes behind the kitchen cupboards that ran against an extarnal wal
(no cavity wall)l. Leaving the kitchen cupboards open may have saved
this from happening. Turning the stop tap off you have saved a lot of
the damage.

Adam

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On 24/10/2016 16:40, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
If there is damp, I would consider installing a dehumidifier, with a
built in humidistat and a permanent drain.

Most dehumidifiers come with a tube that can be fixed for a permanent
drain, however as the house will not be used you could sit it next to
the sink on the worksurface and just let the tube run in to the sink.

Dave expressed precisely :
We have a mid-terraced house that's going to be stood empty for a few months.
It's suffered a bit from dampness in the past so I think we should keep the
heating on to some degree now that we're coming into the colder months, but
what's the best way of doing it? An hour in the morning, an hour at night?
Programmer/thermostat set to 'off' all day but rely on a minimum temp to
switch it on if necessary? And if that's the best, what values for min/max (I
think it's currently set for a min of 11C and a max of 12C). Or some other
method entirely?

Thanks folks. Just FYI, there are no tanks or pipes in the loft at all.

I like Martin Brown's idea of having the heating coming on during the
night when it's coldest - seems so logical but I would never have
thought of it :')

On Monday, 24 October 2016 19:28:18 UTC+1, Dave wrote:
Dave expressed precisely :
We have a mid-terraced house that's going to be stood empty for a few months.
It's suffered a bit from dampness in the past so I think we should keep the
heating on to some degree now that we're coming into the colder months, but
what's the best way of doing it? An hour in the morning, an hour at night?
Programmer/thermostat set to 'off' all day but rely on a minimum temp to
switch it on if necessary? And if that's the best, what values for min/max (I
think it's currently set for a min of 11C and a max of 12C). Or some other
method entirely?

Thanks folks. Just FYI, there are no tanks or pipes in the loft at all.

I like Martin Brown's idea of having the heating coming on during the
night when it's coldest - seems so logical but I would never have
thought of it :')

It isn't.


NT

In article ,
says...

On 10/24/2016 3:37 PM, Dave wrote:
We have a mid-terraced house that's going to be stood empty for a few
months. It's suffered a bit from dampness in the past so I think we
should keep the heating on to some degree now that we're coming into the
colder months, but what's the best way of doing it? An hour in the
morning, an hour at night? Programmer/thermostat set to 'off' all day
but rely on a minimum temp to switch it on if necessary? And if that's
the best, what values for min/max (I think it's currently set for a min
of 11C and a max of 12C). Or some other method entirely?

Check what your insurance company requires - mine insists that heating
be kept at no lower than 15C.

Really?

What planet are they living on?

In article ,
Dave writes:
We have a mid-terraced house that's going to be stood empty for a few
months. It's suffered a bit from dampness in the past so I think we
should keep the heating on to some degree now that we're coming into
the colder months, but what's the best way of doing it? An hour in the
morning, an hour at night? Programmer/thermostat set to 'off' all day
but rely on a minimum temp to switch it on if necessary? And if that's
the best, what values for min/max (I think it's currently set for a min
of 11C and a max of 12C). Or some other method entirely?

I've had to do this with a few houses over the years, waiting for
probate, and in my case back when I worked for a company which liked
to send me away for weeks at a time in the early 2000's.

Leave the heating on all the time, but adjust the temperature setting
appropriately.

Insurance may dictate a minimum temperature, below which you are not
covered for burst pipes or consequential damage.

Otherwise, it depends on the house. A modern house will probably cope
with running at something like 8C, which should stop corners dropping
below freezing. For an older house, you may need to keep it warmer to
keep damp out - I had to go up to 12C to stop it smelling damp.
Note that ths stat is probably in the middle of a main room, but you
need to prevent obscure corners with pipework going below freezing,
so setting the stat too low will not provide protection where it's
needed.

Some other comments:

If there are water pipes/tanks in the loft, leave the loft hatch open
so some heat will get up there. If this is long term, might want to
make up a ventilated grille to go in place of the hatch so bats,
birds, etc can't come through.

If you have cupboards against outside walls with pipes in them, leave
the cupboard doors open so the warmth gets in and they don't form a
frozen cold spot.

Turn the water main off (preferably in the street), so that if there
is a leak, the volume of water which leaks is limited to what's
stored in the house. (This does raise an issue of what happens if
all the water leaks out of the radiator circuit and the boiler tries
to fire up - depends on the boiler.)

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 10/24/2016 8:07 PM, Sam Plusnet wrote:
says...

On 10/24/2016 3:37 PM, Dave wrote:
We have a mid-terraced house that's going to be stood empty for a few
months. It's suffered a bit from dampness in the past so I think we
should keep the heating on to some degree now that we're coming into the
colder months, but what's the best way of doing it? An hour in the
morning, an hour at night? Programmer/thermostat set to 'off' all day
but rely on a minimum temp to switch it on if necessary? And if that's
the best, what values for min/max (I think it's currently set for a min
of 11C and a max of 12C). Or some other method entirely?

Check what your insurance company requires - mine insists that heating
be kept at no lower than 15C.

Really?

Really.
I'm one of those people who reads all the fine print in contracts, and
this requirement is fairly recent.

On 24/10/2016 15:37, Dave wrote:
We have a mid-terraced house that's going to be stood empty for a few
months. It's suffered a bit from dampness in the past so I think we
should keep the heating on to some degree now that we're coming into the
colder months, but what's the best way of doing it? An hour in the
morning, an hour at night? Programmer/thermostat set to 'off' all day
but rely on a minimum temp to switch it on if necessary? And if that's
the best, what values for min/max (I think it's currently set for a min
of 11C and a max of 12C). Or some other method entirely?

Check the insurers requirements, some may want it kept at 15 deg C minimum!

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
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| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
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On 24/10/2016 20:07, Sam Plusnet wrote:
In article ,
says...

On 10/24/2016 3:37 PM, Dave wrote:
We have a mid-terraced house that's going to be stood empty for a few
months. It's suffered a bit from dampness in the past so I think we
should keep the heating on to some degree now that we're coming into the
colder months, but what's the best way of doing it? An hour in the
morning, an hour at night? Programmer/thermostat set to 'off' all day
but rely on a minimum temp to switch it on if necessary? And if that's
the best, what values for min/max (I think it's currently set for a min
of 11C and a max of 12C). Or some other method entirely?

Check what your insurance company requires - mine insists that heating
be kept at no lower than 15C.

Really?

What planet are they living on?

You really do need to read the small print of the policy very carefully
or you could find that when you make a claim they will not pay out if
the property was unoccupied for more than some number of days. I have
seen policies that specify 15C minimum or services all turned off and
everything drained down. You pays your money and takes your choice.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

In article ,
says...

On 24/10/2016 20:07, Sam Plusnet wrote:
In article ,
says...

On 10/24/2016 3:37 PM, Dave wrote:
We have a mid-terraced house that's going to be stood empty for a few
months. It's suffered a bit from dampness in the past so I think we
should keep the heating on to some degree now that we're coming into the
colder months, but what's the best way of doing it? An hour in the
morning, an hour at night? Programmer/thermostat set to 'off' all day
but rely on a minimum temp to switch it on if necessary? And if that's
the best, what values for min/max (I think it's currently set for a min
of 11C and a max of 12C). Or some other method entirely?

Check what your insurance company requires - mine insists that heating
be kept at no lower than 15C.

Really?

What planet are they living on?

You really do need to read the small print of the policy very carefully
or you could find that when you make a claim they will not pay out if
the property was unoccupied for more than some number of days.
I wasn't suggesting this misrepresented what insurers may
demand, just that a minimum of 15C seems rediculous.
I have
seen policies that specify 15C minimum or services all turned off and
everything drained down. You pays your money and takes your choice.

Trying to keep this house at or above 15C 24/7 throughout
a winter would certainly involve a lot of "You pays your
money".

On Mon, 24 Oct 2016 15:37:28 +0100, Dave wrote:

We have a mid-terraced house that's going to be stood empty for a few
months. It's suffered a bit from dampness in the past so I think we
should keep the heating on to some degree now that we're coming into
the colder months, but what's the best way of doing it? An hour in the
morning, an hour at night? Programmer/thermostat set to 'off' all day
but rely on a minimum temp to switch it on if necessary? And if that's
the best, what values for min/max (I think it's currently set for a min
of 11C and a max of 12C). Or some other method entirely?

Setting to 10 deg continuously isn't expensive and will guard against
both frost and condensation damage. Leave cupboard doors and all
internal doors open and prop the loft hatch open a few inches.

On 24/10/2016 19:28, Dave wrote:
Dave expressed precisely :
We have a mid-terraced house that's going to be stood empty for a few
months. It's suffered a bit from dampness in the past so I think we
should keep the heating on to some degree now that we're coming into
the colder months, but what's the best way of doing it? An hour in the
morning, an hour at night? Programmer/thermostat set to 'off' all day
but rely on a minimum temp to switch it on if necessary? And if that's
the best, what values for min/max (I think it's currently set for a
min of 11C and a max of 12C). Or some other method entirely?

Thanks folks. Just FYI, there are no tanks or pipes in the loft at all.

I like Martin Brown's idea of having the heating coming on during the
night when it's coldest - seems so logical but I would never have
thought of it :')

The insurance policy for my holiday flat had used to have a clause
requiring a temperature of at least 13C to be maintained when the flat
was unoccupied during the winter months - otherwise there was no cover
for frozen/burst pipes.

I figured that this was going to cost me a fortune in gas. My solution
was thus:

I duly switched my progammable thermostat to frost stat mode set at 13C
- but I wired it in series with an external stat set at about 2C. I
couldn't see how it was going to freeze *inside* unless it was freezing
*outside*. that meant that the heating maintained the internal
temperature at 13C, as required - but *only* when there was a danger of
freezing.

The insurance company has subsequently relaxed the rules, and now just
requires the water to be turned off in order to limit the effect of any
escape.
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

On 24/10/2016 22:46, Peter Parry wrote:
On Mon, 24 Oct 2016 15:37:28 +0100, Dave wrote:

We have a mid-terraced house that's going to be stood empty for a few
months. It's suffered a bit from dampness in the past so I think we
should keep the heating on to some degree now that we're coming into
the colder months, but what's the best way of doing it? An hour in the
morning, an hour at night? Programmer/thermostat set to 'off' all day
but rely on a minimum temp to switch it on if necessary? And if that's
the best, what values for min/max (I think it's currently set for a min
of 11C and a max of 12C). Or some other method entirely?

Setting to 10 deg continuously isn't expensive and will guard against
both frost and condensation damage. Leave cupboard doors and all
internal doors open and prop the loft hatch open a few inches.


Last winter I left a property at 7 deg for 3 months and it did suffer a
bit from damp. This winter I plan to use a higher temperature. There
are pipes but no tanks in the attic. The property is in an area where it
is unlikely to freeze. The insurance does specify 15 deg but with the
water turned off my hope is that any damage would not be to much.

At another property which has tanks in the attic and is in an area where
it freezes, I have a thermostat in the attic set to about 1 deg.
When we go away for a couple of weeks I leave the attic door open and
rely on this frost stat. I have found that on cold nights this stat
will trigger even when the property is being lived in with the heating on.

I have remote control of both heating systems and can monitor
temperatures via the Internet.

--
Michael Chare

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On 26/10/2016 09:58, Michael Chare wrote:

At another property which has tanks in the attic and is in an area where
it freezes, I have a thermostat in the attic set to about 1 deg.

That is probably cutting it too fine if there is an extended period of
cold with penetrating frost and/or strong winds.

When we go away for a couple of weeks I leave the attic door open and
rely on this frost stat. I have found that on cold nights this stat
will trigger even when the property is being lived in with the heating on.

I have remote control of both heating systems and can monitor
temperatures via the Internet.


I suppose you could use this to give it a boost on particularly chilly
nights. Our frost stat in the loft triggers on the coldest nights too.

It is a sign that the thick loft insulation is working well, but it
could also mean that any exposed pipes are in danger of freezing
particularly if any bare metal at all is exposed to drafts.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On Wednesday, 26 October 2016 13:58:16 UTC+1, Martin Brown wrote:
On 26/10/2016 09:58, Michael Chare wrote:

At another property which has tanks in the attic and is in an area where
it freezes, I have a thermostat in the attic set to about 1 deg.

That is probably cutting it too fine if there is an extended period of
cold with penetrating frost and/or strong winds.

And how accurate is the stat? And what is its hysteresis?


NT

On 24/10/2016 15:37, Dave wrote:
We have a mid-terraced house that's going to be stood empty for a few
months. It's suffered a bit from dampness in the past so I think we
should keep the heating on to some degree now that we're coming into the
colder months, but what's the best way of doing it? An hour in the
morning, an hour at night? Programmer/thermostat set to 'off' all day
but rely on a minimum temp to switch it on if necessary? And if that's
the best, what values for min/max (I think it's currently set for a min
of 11C and a max of 12C). Or some other method entirely?
Wireless thermostat set to frost protection (5C?) in the coldest room in
the house (in my case the kitchen). Worked fine while I was working away
one winter.
In certain foreign areas the central heating is on an external frost
stat. When the outside air temperature drops below 4C the heating turns
on. Mind you in those foreign parts temperatures of -25C are not uncommon.
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