Summer on the Eastern Shore doesn’t last forever, unfortunately. Before you leave for the season, though, there are a few things you need to address to close your beach house for the winter.

Taking a few minutes to protect your home’s plumbing, HVAC, and furnace can save you from a frozen pipe, mold, or no AC when you come back in the spring.

A certified CPS HVAC technician prepares a waterfront home's central HVAC system for winter by performing a thorough tune-up.

Step 1: Schedule a Furnace Tune-Up Before You Leave

Your furnace has probably sat idle since last winter. Before the cold sets in, have it inspected and serviced. A tune-up checks the burner, the heat exchanger, and the ignition system, and catches small issues before they turn into big problems over the winter.

Here’s a quick checklist to help you know how to prepare your furnace for winter, with or without a professional tune-up.

For vacation homes, twice yearly seasonal tune-ups are especially important. If a furnace fails while the house is empty, nobody’s there to notice until pipes have already frozen.

Jeff, one of our NATE-certified HVAC technicians, recommends a fall tune-up for every seasonal property, no matter what type of heating system they use.

“A tune-up catches things you’d never notice until the furnace stops working: cracked heat exchangers, worn ignitors, burner issues. In a vacation home, nobody’s there to notice a strange smell or noise and call for service. The furnace just fails, and the first sign the homeowner sees could be lots of preventable damage to the house.”

— Jeff, HVAC Technician

Step 2: Set Your Thermostat to Low Heat, Not Off

Image of a Delmarva homeowner setting heating at 55 degrees using a wi-fi thermostat and smartphone app.Don’t turn your heat off completely, even if the house will sit empty for months. Set the thermostat to at least 55°F. That’s warm enough to keep pipes from freezing without running up your energy bill.

A wi-fi thermostat is worth considering for a vacation property. You can check the temperature remotely and get an alert if it drops unexpectedly, which gives you a chance to call for help before a pipe bursts.

Step 3: Winterize Your Plumbing

Frozen and burst pipes are the most common cold-weather damage in unoccupied coastal homes. Before you leave:

  1. Shut off the main water supply
  2. Drain the pipes by opening faucets and flushing toilets
  3. Disconnect and drain outdoor hoses and spigots
  4. Add antifreeze to toilet tanks and drain traps if the house will sit below freezing (you may not need this step, so contact our team to see if they recommend it for your home’s location and the length of time it will be vacant)

If your home has a more complex plumbing setup, sprinkler systems, outdoor showers, or multiple bathrooms, it’s worth having a professional walk through the winterization process with you the first time.

A Quick Closing Checklist

A CPS service van sits parked at a waterfront property near Rehoboth Beach during a heating system tune-up service call.Closing up your Delmarva vacation home doesn’t have to be complicated. A few precautions cover most of what can go wrong over a coastal winter. If you’d like a professional to handle the details, our certified plumbers and HVAC technicians can manage your vacation home opening and closing tasks for you.

Ask our customer service team for more information about how we service vacation homes. Call us at 866-950-2653 to learn more.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Keep it around 55°F. This is low enough to save on heating costs and high enough to keep pipes from freezing. Coastal properties on the Eastern Shore see enough temperature swings that going any lower risks a frozen line during a cold snap.

Once a year, before the heating season starts. A vacation home furnace often runs less than a full-time residence, but that doesn’t mean it needs less maintenance. Idle systems can develop their own issues, especially with exposure to humid coastal air.

Yes, if the house will sit empty for extended stretches. A heating system failure or a power outage can turn a “heated” home into an unheated one within hours. Draining the lines and shutting off the main water supply adds a layer of protection heat alone doesn’t cover. You may not need antifreeze in the pipes; ask one of our technicians if that’s a good idea for your home when you have them out to winterize it for the season.

Basic steps like shutting off the water and draining outdoor spigots are manageable for most homeowners. More involved plumbing systems, sprinklers, hot water heaters, or zoned HVAC systems, are worth a professional check, especially the first time you close up a property.

Turning the heat off entirely. It seems like the obvious way to save money, but it’s a sure way to risk a frozen pipe. A low, steady thermostat setting protects the house far better than no heat at all. If your home’s air purification system or dehumidifier is integrated into your HVAC, leaving the system heat on also keeps those systems running so you don’t come back to a musty-smelling house or mold.

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Still Have Questions?

Contact Comfort Plus Services today! Our friendly, knowledgeable staff is always happy to help you find the right HVAC or plumbing solution for your home.