Temperatures are expected to drop into the single digits and teens, and stay there until the New Year. It is a good idea to take steps now to keep your home's pipes from freezing, especially if you will be traveling during the holidays.
If you will be traveling, it's a good idea to turn down the heat to save energy, but do not set the temperature below 50 degrees.
Open the doors to cabinets housing pipes so that pipes will be kept warm from the heat of the rest of the house and keep the doors inside your home open so that heat can freely circulate.
Check that pipes located in basements or crawl spaces are adequately insulated. You can buy foam or fiberglass sleeves for covering pipes at your local home improvement store to help insulate them and decrease their chances of freezing.
Ask a neighbor to check on the house every day or two. Asking neighbors to keep an eye on your home can also be a good deterrent for opportunistic burglars.
Finally, shut-off the main water supply into the home. If the furnace were to unexpectedly fail while you are away from home, you may not be able to protect the pipes from freezing, but you can avoid the catastrophic loss resulting from a flood in your home.
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