Prevent Frozen Pipes

Home
AcuRite Blog
Prevent Frozen Pipes

Prevent Frozen Pipes

When outdoor temperatures plummet, it’s important to keep tabs on your home’s pipes to prevent pipes from freezing, bursting and causing expensive property damage.

When exposed to extremely cold conditions, the water inside a pipe can freeze and expand, resulting in the pipe bursting and flooding the area around it. This can potentially spell disaster in terms of water damage. Your best bet is to prevent pipes from freezing in the first place. Following is an overview of steps you can take to proactively ensure your pipes don’t freeze, as well as AcuRite's recommended solutions for easy frozen pipe prevention.

How to Keep Pipes from Freezing

There are many preventative actions that can mitigate the risk of frozen pipes. Take the following steps to keep pipes from freezing:

Insulate pipes that are located in unheated areas (attics, crawlspaces, garages, outdoor pools and hot tubs, etc.).
Leave the heat on when traveling
Keep the thermostat adequately high throughout the day (minimum 55° Fahrenheit; 13 degrees Celsius).
Always close the door on your attached garage.
Let water drip from faucets when temperatures are extremely cold.
Empty outdoor pools and hot tubs in the winter.

AcuRite's Simple Pipe Monitoring Solution

AcuRite makes monitoring pipe temperature easy with its Multi-Sensor Stations and Monitors with Temperature Sensors . Stations include a Home Environment Display – your dashboard for temperature and humidity conditions in and around your home. The display tracks data from up to three wireless sensors that can be strategically placed indoors or outdoors to monitor the places you care about. Here’s how to use a Multi-Sensor Station to prevent pipes from freezing:

Affixing an An AcuRite Monitor with a Liquid & Soil Temperature Sensor to a pipe

1. Setup Pipe Temperature Sensor

An AcuRite Monitor with a Liquid & Soil Temperature Sensor makes the perfect frozen pipe detector. Simply affix the sensor to a potentially vulnerable pipe with zip ties (included). For best results, wrap the sensor and pipe with insulation, so that the pipe temperature is isolated from the ambient air temperature, as shown in the photos.

AcuRite Home Environment Display on orange background

2. Set a Frozen Pipe Alarm

Home Environment Displays can show conditions for up to three AcuRite Monitors and Sensor so you can track multiple pipes or potential problem areas. The display enables you to set an audible alarm that alerts you when temperatures dip below your preset threshold. This will afford you maximum time to take action when temperatures are getting dangerously cold, making pipes susceptible to freezing.

Man floating above the ground in yoga pose

3. Enjoy peace of mind

Travel, work, play, or meditate! Enjoy the peace of mind of accessing your data remotely. Pair with AcuRite Access™ and the My AcuRite app to monitor your pipe temperature while you are away - and you can also setup to receive custom email and phone alerts!