Adding a combination thermostat and humidistat for areas that can become either too cold or too wet is a great idea. This can be placed in areas like crawl spaces, garages or cold bathrooms. If you purchase one designed to tell you the outside weather remotely, you can place that remote in the area you want to monitor and have the main part of the device in the living space where you can read the temperature and humidity. These generally cost less than $30.00.
When you leave a home for an extended time, turn off the main water valve. If you are leaving in freezing weather, turn off the water at the meter and then open spigots to drain some of the water out of the pipes.
If you are going to be away during freeing weather add a remote thermometer connected to an alarm system. These can call you if the temperature in a home goes below 41 degrees Fahrenheit. For systems like SimpliSafe Security systems, you can purchase the device for $30.00 and add this to the system in less than 30 minutes.