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Our family travels a lot, and our dog and cat usually come with us, so when we're away there is nobody at home at all. I also rent out properties, and anyone who does learns the same lesson: an empty house is where small problems become expensive ones. A leak nobody sees for five days. A furnace that quits on the coldest night of the year. I've insulated plenty of pipes, walls and roofs during renovations, and insulation helps, but it only slows the cold down. It can't replace heat that has stopped.
Around our house I use smart plugs, sensors and timers every day, and this guide is the checklist I'd hand to a friend before Thanksgiving or Christmas travel: what to set up, where each sensor goes, the 48-hour test that most people skip, and the five inexpensive gadgets that cover the real risks. I haven't owned every product named here; where I haven't, the pick is based on specs, warranty terms and the patterns in owner reviews, and I say so.
Three things to set up before any winter trip
Wi-Fi, no hub. Set a low-temperature alert and your phone hears about a dead furnace first.
Check price on AmazonThree sensors and a gateway, loud alarm plus app, email and text alerts.
Check price on AmazonAway Mode switches lamps on and off at random; schedules live on the plug.
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Build your leaving-home checklist
Answer four questions and tick what you already own. The list changes for a weekend versus two weeks, for a house versus an apartment, and for homes where it actually freezes.
Build your leaving-home checklist
What can go wrong in an empty house (and what catches it)
Most "vacation security" lists start with cameras. I start with water, because that is where the money is. A burglar is unlikely; a slow leak under a sink or a furnace that stops on a January night is much more likely, and nobody is there to notice.
| What can go wrong in an empty house | What catches it | What it can't do |
|---|---|---|
| Furnace stops, house cools, pipes freeze | Wi-Fi temperature sensor with a low alert | Fix the furnace: you still need someone to go over |
| Water heater, washer hose or supply line leaks | Leak sensors on the floor next to each one | Stop the water, unless you add an automatic shutoff valve |
| A dark house for a week signals "nobody home" | Smart plugs running lamps on a random schedule | Fool someone who watches the house for days |
| Break-in, or a door left unlocked | Indoor camera on the entry, video doorbell | Prevent it; it records and alerts you |
| Packages piling up on the porch | USPS Hold Mail, delivery pause, a neighbor | — |
| Power or internet outage | Sensors that alert when they go offline; on-plug schedules | Report anything while the internet is down |
The insurance industry's own numbers explain the first two rows: water damage and freezing make up roughly a fifth to a quarter of homeowners insurance losses in recent years, with an average claim around $15,400 (Insurance Information Institute, 2019–2023 data).
Where each sensor goes
Placement matters more than the brand. A leak sensor on a shelf detects nothing. A temperature sensor in a warm living room tells you nothing about the pipes in the crawl space.
- Leak sensors go flat on the floor, where water would collect first: in the pan or next to the water heater, under the kitchen sink, behind the washing machine, and next to the toilet. If you have a sump pump or a basement water softener, those are good spots too.
- The temperature sensor goes in the coldest place that has water pipes: a basement, crawl space, attached garage, or the cabinet under a sink on an outside wall. That is the spot that freezes first.
- Smart plugs run a lamp in the living room and one upstairs, not the porch light alone. A porch light that is on all night, every night, says "away" as loudly as a dark house.
- An indoor camera faces the main entry door. You want to see who came in, not the inside of your fridge.
The 48-hour test (the step most people skip)
Reading owner complaints about these gadgets, one story repeats in different words: the sensor worked when it was set up, then quietly dropped off Wi-Fi or got logged out of its app, and the owner only found out when they checked the app days later. One review I read described a summer-home owner who came back after a month of heavy rain to find the app had logged them out and sent nothing. That is why a test two days before you leave beats any spec sheet.
- Trigger each leak sensor. A damp paper towel under it is enough. Check that the alarm sounds and that the alert reaches every phone that should get it, including your partner's.
- Check the temperature sensor's last reading time. If it says "2 hours ago", it is not connected. Most budget sensors use 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi only, so a router that mixes 2.4 and 5 GHz under one name can confuse them.
- Turn on SMS or email alerts where the app offers them, in addition to push notifications. If the app logs you out, the text still arrives.
- Fresh batteries everywhere, including smoke and CO alarms.
- Open the camera app on cellular data to make sure you can see it from outside your network.
- Run the lamp schedule once to confirm the plug switches on when it should.
My rule as a landlord: a sensor that shows as offline is itself an alert. If you can't see it, assume it can't see the problem either, and ask your neighbor to look in.
The day you leave
- Thermostat: heat on, no lower than 55°F, the minimum the American Red Cross gives for a house you leave in cold weather. Don't turn the heat off to save money; one frozen pipe costs more than a winter of heating.
- Cabinet doors open under sinks on outside walls, so warm room air reaches the pipes.
- Water: close the valves behind the washing machine. For a longer trip, turn off the main valve if your home allows it (not if you have fire sprinklers on the house supply or a boiler that needs water).
- Mail and deliveries: USPS Hold Mail is free for 3 to 30 days. Pause newspapers and subscription boxes, and ask a neighbor to grab anything that shows up. Our guide to stopping package theft has more on this.
- Unplug TVs, computers and chargers you won't need. Leave the fridge and freezer running.
- One person with a key and your trip dates. Every alert in this guide is only as good as the person who can get there.
The 5 gadgets that cover the gaps
None of these is expensive, and together they cover the risks in the table above. All five connect over 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, so read the setup note in the 48-hour test before you start.
Freeze alerts: Govee WiFi Thermometer Hygrometer H5179
A small battery-powered thermometer that connects straight to your Wi-Fi, with no hub, and sends a phone alert when the temperature or humidity leaves the range you set.
Why it made the list: it is the cheapest way to know the heat has stopped while you're hundreds of miles away. One of the best-selling Wi-Fi thermometers on Amazon, with a Swiss-made sensor (Govee lists ±0.54°F accuracy) and up to two years of data export.
- Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz) and Bluetooth; no 5 GHz
- App alerts for temperature and humidity ranges
- Battery powered; place it anywhere with a lanyard loop
Pros: no hub, simple app, humidity too (useful for a basement).
Cons: app alerts only; no loud alarm in the house; not designed for freezers.
What owners complain about: units that lose their Wi-Fi connection after a few months and fall back to Bluetooth only, setup trouble on routers that mix 2.4 and 5 GHz, alert ranges that have to be set while connected over Bluetooth, and no low-battery warning, so you have to check the battery level in the app yourself.
Skip it if you want a loud local alarm too, or you need to monitor a freezer; the GoveeLife gateway kits with probes in our leak detector guide are built for that.
I haven't owned this exact model; my pick is based on specs, warranty terms and owner reviews.
Leak alerts: GoveeLife Smart Water Leak Detector 1s (3 sensors + gateway)
Three battery leak sensors that talk to a plug-in gateway over a long-range radio, with a 105 dB alarm on each sensor plus app, email and SMS alerts.
Why it made the list: enough sensors for the water heater, kitchen sink and washer in one box, and the SMS and email options matter when you're away: a text still arrives if the app has logged you out.
- 3 sensors + Wi-Fi gateway (2.4 GHz)
- Long-range sub-GHz radio between sensors and gateway; the listing claims up to 1,804 feet in open space
- Loud local alarm, app, email and text alerts
Pros: three sensors, text and email alerts, long range for basements and garages.
Cons: everything depends on the gateway staying online; it only alerts, it doesn't shut off water.
What owners complain about: the gateway dropping its Wi-Fi connection, the app logging users out so push alerts stop, confusing SMS setup, and a gateway that, per one owner, doesn't sound its own alarm (the sensors do).
Skip it if nobody can reach your house within a few hours; then you need an automatic shutoff valve, not just an alarm.
I haven't owned this kit; it is my pick from specs and owner reviews. See our full leak detector guide for hub-based and no-Wi-Fi options.
Lived-in lights: Kasa Smart Plug Ultra Mini EP10 (2-pack)
Two compact Wi-Fi plugs with schedules, countdown timers and an Away Mode that switches a lamp on and off at random within a time window you choose.
Why it made the list: Away Mode is the feature that makes a house look lived-in rather than staged, and Kasa stores schedules on the plug, so they keep running if the internet drops. The listing states a 2-year warranty.
- 15 A, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi; Alexa and Google
- Schedules, timers, Away Mode with sunset and sunrise options
- UL certified per the listing
Pros: random Away Mode, on-plug schedules, small enough to leave the second outlet free.
Cons: no Matter or Apple Home; no energy monitoring.
What owners complain about: dropping offline on routers with band steering and needing a reset after a router change. Our smart plug problems guide covers both fixes.
Skip it if your home runs on Apple Home; look at the Matter plugs in our smart plug guide.
I use smart plugs and timers at home every day; this specific pick is based on specs, the warranty and owner reviews.
Eyes on the door: Tapo C210 2K Pan/Tilt Indoor Camera
An indoor camera that pans and tilts across a whole room and records motion clips to a microSD card, with no subscription required.
Why it made the list: for a trip you want alerts and recordings without signing up for another monthly plan, and the C210 records free to microSD. Person detection cuts down on pointless alerts.
- 2K video, 360° pan and 114° tilt
- Records to a microSD card up to 512 GB (card sold separately) or Tapo Care cloud
- Works with Alexa and Google
Pros: no fee for local recording, covers a whole room, privacy mode for when you're home.
Cons: needs a power outlet; if someone takes the camera, the card goes with it.
What owners complain about: 2.4 GHz-only setup, the microSD card not being in the box, and occasional disconnects that need a power cycle.
Skip it if a pet sitter will be in the house; a camera they don't know about is not fair to them. Tell them, or leave it off.
We compared it head-to-head in Blink Mini 2K+ vs Tapo C210.
Porch and holiday lights: Kasa Outdoor Smart Plug EP40 (2 outlets)
A weather-resistant plug with two outlets you schedule separately, for a porch lamp, a path light or holiday lights.
Why it made the list: holiday lights that stay dark for two weeks in December are a tell. The EP40 is rated IP64 and down to -4°F per Kasa, and each outlet keeps its own schedule.
- Two independently controlled outlets
- IP64; Kasa says to use it on a GFCI outlet outdoors
- Alexa and Google; 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi
Pros: two outlets, cold rating, on-plug schedules.
Cons: needs Wi-Fi coverage at the outdoor outlet; no Apple Home.
What owners complain about: weak signal at far outlets and GFCI trips after rain, usually from wet light-string joints.
Skip it if you don't decorate or the outdoor outlet is out of Wi-Fi range.
What I wouldn't bother with before a trip
- A new alarm system the week before you leave. New systems need a few weeks of false alarms and tweaking. Install it after the holidays; our DIY security guide can help you pick one.
- Fake TV lights and "dummy" cameras. They don't record or alert. A real camera that records to a card is not much more.
- Turning the heat off to save money. The heating you save on an empty house for a week is small next to one water damage claim.
- A space heater on a smart plug to "keep the pipes warm". Space heaters should go straight into a wall outlet, and never run unattended in an empty house.
If you're heading to Europe for the holidays, my travel notes on The Finer Route cover the trip itself; this page covers the house you leave behind.
Leaving home for the holidays: FAQ
What temperature should I leave my house at in winter while I'm away?
The American Red Cross says to keep the heat on and set it no lower than 55°F when you leave a house in cold weather. That keeps the air around pipes in outside walls, cabinets and basements above freezing. A temperature sensor with a 50°F alert tells you if the heat stops.
Should I turn off the main water valve when I go on vacation?
For a week or longer it removes the biggest risk, since a burst pipe or a failed hose can only leak what is already in the pipes. Skip it if your home has fire sprinklers on the house water supply or a boiler that needs water, and ask a plumber if you're not sure. At minimum, turn off the valves behind the washing machine.
Do smart plug schedules work if the internet goes down while I'm away?
Schedules stored on the plug itself (Kasa and Tapo plugs, for example) keep running without internet. Routines that live in Alexa or Google need the internet. After a power cut, some plugs need to reconnect once to reset their clock; see our smart plug problems guide.
How long will USPS hold my mail?
USPS Hold Mail is free and holds mail for 3 to 30 days. You can request it online up to 30 days ahead. For longer trips, USPS points you to mail forwarding instead.
Do I need a subscription for a security camera while I'm on vacation?
Not necessarily. Cameras like the Tapo C210 record motion clips to a microSD card you buy separately, with no monthly fee, and still send phone alerts. A cloud plan adds a copy of the clips that survives if someone takes the camera.
Is a Wi-Fi water leak sensor enough, or do I need a shutoff valve?
A sensor tells you there is water; it doesn't stop it. That's enough if someone can reach the house within an hour or two. For a second home, a rental between tenants or long trips, an automatic shutoff valve that closes the main line is the real fix, but it is a bigger purchase and usually a plumber's install.
Should I leave lights on all the time while I'm away?
No. A light that burns day and night for a week looks staged. Lamps that come on in the evening and go off at different times look like someone lives there. Kasa's Away Mode does this by switching a plug on and off at random within a time window you set.
Related reading
- Best water leak detectors
- Smart plug problems and how to fix each one
- Blink Mini 2K+ vs Tapo C210
- How to stop package theft this holiday season
- Best smart thermostats
- Best video doorbells
Sources
- American Red Cross: Frozen pipes
- USPS: Hold Mail service
- Insurance Information Institute: Homeowners and renters insurance facts and statistics
- TP-Link: Schedule, Away Mode and Timer for Kasa smart plugs
- Product listings on Amazon.com, checked October 17, 2026
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