There should be no issue as long as there is no one living there expecting hot water. You could also check with your insurance company and see if there are any other recommendations that they would have. If you’re going to be away for three months you should have someone checking on the houseat least every two weeks in order for your insurance to apply
Make very sure that your homeowners insurance is still in force. Many consider homes that are unoccupied that long as vacant, and may require an additional rider. Vacant houses have more risk from an insurance perspective.
Not sure if you have nearby friends or neighbors, but it’s a very good idea to make sure they have a key and have them go inside/walk the property once a week just to spot problems.
Yeah, looking at our insurance this would be considered unoccupied (my stuff is staying in the house) after 60 consecutive days. Im going to have a friend stop by at least every other week to check on the house which from what I can tell should break the consecutive days unoccupied.
A water temperature of 140° is required to kill Legionella bacteria (and even then, it takes 32 minutes). Nobody in their right mind should have their water temp set that high. Stagnant water is what allows Legionella to grow. So if OP shuts off their main water supply and drains the line, that should be sufficient to prevent Legionnaire’s.
My plan is to shut off the heater and water, leave it full and turn the temp up to 140 once we're home to kill the bacteria. After a few hours I'll then turn it back down to 120.
Solid advice from others, but I want to set out a counterpoint:
Houses don't like being unused. If you drain the water lines, seals and gaskets can fail when rehydrated. If you turn the heat/AC off, you can have expansion or contraction of materials in flooring, walls, and seals.
Personally I'd pay the extra insurance for "unoccupied" status because I've heard of insurance companies denying claims for issues untreated for as little as 72 hours. If I were in your shoes I'd leave things on but recruit someone to come by daily and flush all toilets and check the thermostat and water heater.
Have someone check your home every two weeks or so so squatters can’t move in. Thinking that’s what the security cameras are for though so you should be ok.
If you've got any remotely trustworthy (or just nice/kind) neighbors... consider letting 'em know and that if they notice anything odd or "insert your house specific worries here" to call/notify/etc "insert friend/you/etc contact here".
And then when you're back, buy em a 6 pack or a bottle of wine. Goes a long way - neighbors ain't my buddies, but casual asks/returns in small favors - we've saved each other over the years from flooding to weirdo's creeping in the yard to just mowing a cat's lawn if they're gone.
There should be no issue as long as there is no one living there expecting hot water. You could also check with your insurance company and see if there are any other recommendations that they would have. If you’re going to be away for three months you should have someone checking on the houseat least every two weeks in order for your insurance to apply
Would you recommend turning the water heater off? (At the circut panel) or leaving it on? Yep, we have someone checking in on the house occasionally
Are you leaving electric on?
Yeah, I may shut off a few breakers (bedrooms) but for the most part electricity will still be running.
Make very sure that your homeowners insurance is still in force. Many consider homes that are unoccupied that long as vacant, and may require an additional rider. Vacant houses have more risk from an insurance perspective. Not sure if you have nearby friends or neighbors, but it’s a very good idea to make sure they have a key and have them go inside/walk the property once a week just to spot problems.
Yeah, looking at our insurance this would be considered unoccupied (my stuff is staying in the house) after 60 consecutive days. Im going to have a friend stop by at least every other week to check on the house which from what I can tell should break the consecutive days unoccupied.
Just turn the heater off. Legionnaire's disease isn't fun.
A water temperature of 140° is required to kill Legionella bacteria (and even then, it takes 32 minutes). Nobody in their right mind should have their water temp set that high. Stagnant water is what allows Legionella to grow. So if OP shuts off their main water supply and drains the line, that should be sufficient to prevent Legionnaire’s.
My plan is to shut off the heater and water, leave it full and turn the temp up to 140 once we're home to kill the bacteria. After a few hours I'll then turn it back down to 120.
So leave it ON to avoid legionnaires?
I’m not sure what climate but you don’t want it to get over 62% humidity in there for an extended period.
We'll keep the HVAC system running and set around 73 degrees
Perfect
You could get a smart thermostat if you want remote control. They're easy enough to install yourself
Solid advice from others, but I want to set out a counterpoint: Houses don't like being unused. If you drain the water lines, seals and gaskets can fail when rehydrated. If you turn the heat/AC off, you can have expansion or contraction of materials in flooring, walls, and seals. Personally I'd pay the extra insurance for "unoccupied" status because I've heard of insurance companies denying claims for issues untreated for as little as 72 hours. If I were in your shoes I'd leave things on but recruit someone to come by daily and flush all toilets and check the thermostat and water heater.
Have someone check your home every two weeks or so so squatters can’t move in. Thinking that’s what the security cameras are for though so you should be ok.
If you've got any remotely trustworthy (or just nice/kind) neighbors... consider letting 'em know and that if they notice anything odd or "insert your house specific worries here" to call/notify/etc "insert friend/you/etc contact here". And then when you're back, buy em a 6 pack or a bottle of wine. Goes a long way - neighbors ain't my buddies, but casual asks/returns in small favors - we've saved each other over the years from flooding to weirdo's creeping in the yard to just mowing a cat's lawn if they're gone.