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With temps below 30 degrees I set my dishwasher to run at 2-3am that keeps water moving thru pipes, and I leave under sink cabinet doors open. That's all I do in my house.
I think it's better safe than sorry, but I have a feeling it would take quite a while for a crawl space to equalize to the exterior temperature. As long as you're using your water and the house isn't sitting empty, I don't think it's an issue. I could be completely wrong though so don't listen to me
My crawlspace is sitting at 52 degrees right now (with 43% humidity). Not worried about pipes freezing any time soon!
A little wireless thermometer in the crawlspace is probably a good investment.
That's what I have (also monitors humidity) - got it because I'm running a dehumidifier down there, and I want to know if it stops working. Knowing if pipes might freeze is a good side effect!
If you have a water heater in a storage unit on the exterior, the single digits forecast for later next week can freeze water lines.
That storage room gets cold, particularly, due to the vents for fresh air required by code for a gas water heater.
If the garden hose faucet is on the back or side of the storage area, it is easily subject to freezing.
Had a plumber once tell me to drip the faucet farthest from where the water line comes into the house. That way more water moves in the system reducing risk of freezing. Made sense to me.
I've never done the dripping faucets thing, even when I was growing up in NY. Down here, it seems to be a common practice. However, during the winter, my thermostat is always at least 67, so I don't think letting the faucets drip is going to make much of a difference. On top of the fact that I live in an apartment building where the heat from the unit below me likely helps.
In my many years of home ownership the only frozen/broken pipe issue I had was with an exterior faucet back in Virginia. I don't remember how cold it was, but it only happened the one time.
I guess a lot of my gas bill is going towards heating my crawlspace - temperature there is sitting at 51, with my furnace set at 70.
So glad I got my crawl sealed. I didn't do full encapsulation either. New vapor barrier that's attached to walls and piers, dehumidifier, sealed vents, and insulated the cripple walls. My crawl stays about 8 degrees off from the rest of my house so no issues with freezing or getting really hot in the summer. Humidity stays 50% of lower all year round. Spent less than $2,000 and that's with a $650 dehumidifier. Put a weatherstation in your crawl to keep tabs. They cost $10-$15 and will tell you temp and humidity.
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