A freeze alert only helps if someone knows what to do next. This playbook covers the night before a cold snap, the moment an alert fires, and the morning after, so ThermalTrace becomes a response loop, not just a chart.
Before the cold snap
- Confirm the freeze threshold matches your coldest zone (often a few degrees above hard freeze).
- Enable email under Alerts → Essentials (and Pro SMS/push if you have them), see the channel cookbook.
- Turn on forecast / NWS freeze inputs so you get warning before indoor air drops.
- Send a test alert from Essentials or Devices while you are awake.
When an alert fires
- Acknowledge it (“I’m on it”) so escalations pause if you use playbooks.
- Check the coldest probe and whether a door has been open.
- If you cannot respond, escalate to SMS/household members.
- Keep quiet-hours bypass on for freeze/forecast so overnight alerts still arrive.
After the snap
Review history for overnight lows, adjust the threshold if you were warned too late or too often, and read the probe case study for placement lessons. Invite family with the household sharing walkthrough so one person is not the only responder. Watch melt and drip risk with the freeze → thaw flood playbook.
Product checklist
- Dashboard → Alerts → Essentials (freeze °F + email)
- Dashboard → Alerts → Send a test now
- Optional: playbook steps if unacked after N minutes
- Optional: household invites + free family live share link
- Optional: enable the time-to-freeze runway before sleep or travel
FAQ
What should I do when a freeze alert fires?
Acknowledge it, check the coldest zone and door state, open quiet-hour bypass if needed, and escalate channels if nobody responds within your playbook window.
How do quiet hours interact with freeze alerts?
You can suppress routine noise overnight while still delivering freeze, flood, and forecast alerts, keep bypass enabled for critical kinds.