Posted on DU from a heating and cooling company in Indiana:
We are expecting the coldest weather we have faced in over 20 years Sunday night through Tuesday night with wind chill temperatures of up to -40 degrees. Please read the information below to assist you in preparing your heating and plumbing for this extreme weather.
Set your thermostat a few degrees higher to build up some warmth BEFORE the extreme temperature arrives. You can expect your furnace to run constantly until the outside temperature returns to a seasonal average. Your furnace is designed to keep your home comfortably warm for average weather conditions. The extreme weather that we are expecting will cause your furnace to work its hardest. It may not keep your inside temperature to the set-point because of the huge temperature difference between indoors and outdoors. You may need to put on a few more layers until the extreme weather is over. (Layering covers on your bed will keep you warmer at night also.)
For Heat Pumps: Please do NOT switch your thermostat to the Emergency Heat setting. It will turn off the outdoor unit and provide less heat. Shut the registers in unused rooms only if they do not have plumbing. Close the doors to those rooms also. Close the dampers on your fireplace only if it is NOT in use. Use towels at the base of your outside doors to lessen the entry of cold air. Keep your garage door closed. If you have plumbing in the garage, provide heat to that area if possible. Close your crawlspace vents and access holes. Open cabinet doors for all plumbing fixtures located on the outside wall. Leave the water running in a small stream when plumbing fixtures are located on an outside wall.
NOTE: If you are leaving for an extended period of time, turn the water off to your home and shut off the power supply to the water heater. If your washer is located on an outside wall, add a small amount of anti-freeze to the trap and monitor it while in use during this extreme cold. Locate your water shut-off valve now in case you experience a burst pipe. PASS IT ON!
Good common sense suggestions. (Do people now really need to be told that more blankets on your bed will keep you warmer? Yikes.) One other thing: talking about the pipes most exposed to the cold, I just recently heard about heat tape. It’s probably not in stock in any hardware store by now, and North Midwesterners already know all about it, but I just learned. It’s tape with heating wires embedded, and so long as it’s correctly installed and your power doesn’t go out (hah!), it’s a Very Good Thing.
True, true. All good advice. Big danger isn’t from the cold so much as the carbon monoxide buildup when you seal up your house like a drum. If you start getting headache and feeling nauseous, time to look for other accommodation. And frozen pipes, that’s a headache you don’t want. Even a small wattage lamp in the cabinet next to piping on outside walls can make the difference. Heat tape is excellent, but that’s for when the current situation has abated. DIY in sub-zero weather is not recommended. Oh and get the tea kettle out and use it frequently, cold will take the moisture right out of the air. See you on the other side.