Scenario · Heated garage with plumbing, cold climate

A garage heater trips at 2 a.m.

Scenario: a garage heater fails overnight in a cold snap. How an ESP32 probe, a 34°F freeze threshold, and SMS alerts buy time before pipes freeze.

Illustrative scenario. This is a walkthrough of how ProbeHarbor behaves in a common failure, not an account from a real customer. The features, thresholds, and plan limits are real.

Illustration for Garage heater failure scenario
Freeze-risk moment: phone alert beside plumbing. Notification shown is stylized, not a product screenshot.

The setup

  • ESP32 + DHT22 pushing every 5 minutes to ProbeHarbor ingest
  • Freeze threshold at 34°F with SMS (Pro) and Telegram routing
  • Weekly digest for the household; family live link for a neighbor who watches the house

How it plays out

  1. 2:14 a.m.: The garage crosses 34°F; ProbeHarbor texts both owners and posts to a Telegram family channel.
  2. 2:22 a.m.: One owner power-cycles the heater through a smart plug.
  3. 3:05 a.m.: The chart shows the temperature recovering, well before the pipes reach 32°F.

Why it matters

A heater failure is only a disaster if nobody finds out until morning. The threshold sits a couple of degrees above freezing so there is time to respond, and SMS is what wakes you up at 2 a.m.; email alone is easy to sleep through.

Real outcomes depend on sensor placement, thresholds, and how quickly someone can respond.

FAQ

Which alert channels wake you up overnight?

SMS (Pro) and push (every plan) are the ones that reliably wake people up. Email and chat channels like Telegram are also on every plan and work well as a second route.

What hardware does this take?

An ESP32 with a DHT22 or waterproof DS18B20 pushing every few minutes to ProbeHarbor ingest, and a freeze threshold around 34°F.

Related answers

Try it on your space

Start free with live charts, email alerts, and one family live share link. Upgrade when you want CSV history (Member) or SMS and expanded share scopes (Pro: 14-day trial).

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