Thermostats where the landlord can set a minimum temperature for heat?

[Kimberly T.]

We recently bought a 4plex in Colorado (yea!).  Our other rentals are in Orange County CA and Scottsdale AZ, so we've never had to worry about pipes freezing/bursting.  I have heard of thermostats that you can install that have a minimum temperature setting (say, 50 or 55 degrees F) to automatically turn on the heat even if the tenant doesn't have the heater on, and we'd like to put those in to prevent frozen pipes.  Where can you buy those?  Home Depot/Lowes?  How do you find them among all the thermostats available?  Do they have a specific name?  Sorry, this is new to me.

[Mike F.]

The Nest thermostats have this feature, they call it a "safety temperature". The Nest thermostats are designed to work over a wireless network so they can be remotely changed, but there would be nothing stopping you from installing one without using it wirelessly and just using it as a regular thermostat. There are lockable thermostats for commercial use, but I can't see that working in a rental.

I think the main issue will always be that any thermostat that you can set a minimum temperature in will always be susceptible to this fail safe failing, due to the possibility the tenant could change it on purpose or on accident.

I'd hope in a 4 plex as long as there is no building defect to the thermal envelope that it would be difficult for one units pipes to freeze as long as the other units were occupied, seeing as they share some common walls/ceilings.