Heating
Thermostats, baseboards, heat pumps, propane, oil or wood: keeping an empty cottage warm all winter.
- What temperature should you leave an empty cottage at in winter?
There’s no magic number for heating an empty cottage in winter. What decides the right setting, and who to ask: your plumber and your insurer.
- Heat pump in extreme cold: why it falls behind when the mercury drops
In deep cold a heat pump loses output and can shut down. Why it happens, and how to protect an empty cottage with backup heat.
- Smart thermostat: what it won’t tell you when the power goes out
A connected thermostat helps from a distance, but it goes silent in an outage. What it sees, what it misses, and whether it’s enough for the cottage.
- Wood stove at an empty cottage: never count on it
A wood stove heats beautifully while you’re there, but it can’t protect an empty cottage. Why, and what your main heat needs to do instead.