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Originally Posted by colesfamily
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
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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.