Winter Low Temperature Notifier
 

Greetings forum members,

I'm curious what other forum members are using for a means to let you know when the homes interior temperature drops to a dangerous level. In other words, I'm looking for an automatic notification system that lets the home owner or others know when a dangerous interior temperature occurs. I have a Emerson Sensi thermostat that I can control remotely via wifi but it does not send out an automatic signal if the temp drops too low. Thanks.

Freeze alarm Intermediate.

https://www.controlproductsonline.co...larm-fa-i-cca/

Needs a landline. Reports power outage and low temp (set your own alarm point). 9 volt battery back up. Get the battery package that uses D cells to get the 9 volts.

Battery pack

http://www.absoluteautomation.com/fr...attery-holder/

All of this is great...I have had the Freeze Alarm Intermediate for years....but when the power goes out, most also lose phone power and then the freeze alarm is totally useless. It only works as long as you have phone lines. With cable, most do not have backup power. You need to solve the phone problem before having any total confidence in the Freeze Alarm. i have yet to find a suitable solution. Even my security system does not function without phone power. We lost power last winter with the wind storm, but could not get any report from my alarm. Just assumed if i could not get a phone call through, then the power must be off.

Thank you to all that replied.
 

Thanks for the information. Based on your feedback and because I don't want a telephone land line and I am less concerned with power outages than with the occasional but rare furnace failure I'm going to have Home Energy install their Mitsubishi Mini Split heat pumps as a precautionary measure. I'll keep the water main turned off during the week. I'll heat with the mini splits and I'll keep the FHA furnace on set at 45 degrees as backup insurance, at least until I figure out the capability of the mini splits. SMK

If no phone but internet, you can have fun and play a little. I have four D-link cameras at my place to watch what is going on outside. BUT, one is a night vision camera that I have set to just watch my oil tank gage in my crawl space that is totally dark. I can read my oil level anywhere in the world with internet. You could do the same thing by getting a camera and having it just look at a thermometer. These things are cheap....i think under $60 and they are fun to have and watch at times. Just need internet.......

I have a temp-stick, you can set alarm to send you an email alert when temps drop below what you set it at. Battery operated, needs internet

I have the same thermostat and it does send you an E-mail if the temp falls below 40 degrees. I've never gotten that e-mail, thankfully, but I have got e-mails saying humidity levels were very high. I don't have A/C so when it's close up on those very hot days I will get that notification.

Simplisafe
 

I use Simplisafe.com This system does not rely on a home phone or internet. The base unit has a built-in cell connection. Has freeze sensors and water sensors. Requires a monitoring service contract for $15 or $24 per month. Also notifies you immediately when the power goes out. Base unit has about 8 hrs of battery backup.

Winter Low Temperature Notifier
 

I use Vera home automation. I have temp sensors and thermostats connected as well as my lights, motion sensors and door locks. It runs on the internet.

I can directly control all 5 heat pumps and 4 oil zones. But best of all is the programming features. For example while away the system checks the sensors and depending on the outside temp will run a variety of decisions such as "heat pump priority " where the oil zones are set low and the heat pumps take over. Vice versa for "oil heat priority", where i set the oil on when its really cold outside.

Vera (getvera.com) was an investment in time and initial frustration, but having run versions of it for almost 10 years its been great to have. We have them in both houses.

Oh and no monthly fees![emoji3]

I have the same freeze alarm and, as others have indicated, it works great as long as your phone line is working. I have internet phone through Spectrum/Time Warner and when the power goes out I don't have phone service (learned that last year when the power was out for a few days). I really like the idea of a cellular based package with battery back up. At least you'll know when the power goes out.

I leave my heat at 50. I like the practice of turning the main water off (I do that every time I leave the house regardless). Depending on your winter use you could consider winterizing the house and that way you don't worry about it. I will pass along a recommendation from the plumber who did my hot water heater. He said to put a propane fireplace in your basement (will protect the plumbing in the basement and the heat will rise to the upper levels). Not sure how may Mitsubishi units you are talking about but that might be a cheaper option.

As far as the Mitsubishi units, if you are going to use them for heat make sure to get the Hyper units which are good below zero (the regular units lose efficiency under 40 degrees). I have one of their standard heat pumps in a converted storage room in my house which I use for air conditioning but have tried it on the heat side as well (although I have electric baseboard heat in there). I can tell you the heat side really drops off when it gets cold with the standard unit.

We use the ecobee wireless Thermostat monitors both inside and outside temps. Have forced hot water baseboard heat and during the winter months takes a day to bring the zone from 45 to 65. Been in use for two seasons. Very happy


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The Sensi has the same features but if you lose power or internet then you get nothing. In my case I have a neighbor I can call to check on the place. I did have that issue once last winter were I had no internet connection during a bad storm so I was worried that the power went out but I called my neighbor and she told me it was just the internet that was down. I have no back up generator so I would have to drive up there and fire up the stove if it was a long power outage.:(

Based on 34 years of dealing with winter weather, power outages and furnace issues, I still think that the best bang for the buck is the Freeze Alarm. Yes, it does need a land line. We have never gone with cable provided phones since often when the power is out, the cable and cable phones are also out. Fairpoint land lines are often operating when the power and cable are out. An exception was last year’s wind storm, but the land lines were back up days before the cable was. We now have a whole house generator, but the Freeze Alarm will still provide notice of furnace or propane supply issue., or a generator failure.

I have found that when people say they loose land and cable phone when the power is out it is because they use wireless phones that require power to the base units or have fiber internet that needs power to convert light to digital or analog signal. In most cases copper phone lines & cable are self powered. An easy solution might be to get a small backup uninteruptable power supply that people use to protect their computer and attach it to the phone base unit, modem, router, etc. With minimal draw the UPS should provide backup power for several hours. I get 45 min when power fails to my computer and it is drawing 120 volts to power 750 watt power supply.


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What Real Big Guy says is true. However, units like the Freeze Alarm simply plug into an existing phone jack, so if the land line has power via the wires, then it works.

Thanks for the information, it gives me plenty of options to consider and this forum cuts way down on the research time I would have otherwise had to invest. Thank you.