It’s common to worry about freezing water lines or malfunctioning furnaces in extreme cold weather, but don’t forget about your radon mitigation system!
My daughter called me tonight with a question about her radon mitigation system. With the recent sub zero temperatures, she’s notices that the fan that operates inside the radon mitigation PVC pipe is making a lot of noise, like it was having trouble running. I did a quick search on the Internet and discovered that in some cases, condensation can form inside the PVC near the exit hole. If this condensation continues, it could ultimately burn up the fan inside the radon tube and leave the home with an inoperable radon mitigation system. She also told me that the bubble levels were even, showing that there is no negative pressure in the system.
This is what I found on the net from http://www.bestradonsolutions.com/Radon-Mitigation.html
When it is very cold outside, you can get the condensation to freeze inside your PVC pipes. If it stays cold long enough, ice forms possibility blocking off the PVC pipe and preventing the radon gas from leaving your home, increasing your radon gas levels in your home. If that happens, your radon fan will overheat and turn itself off. Once the ice melts the fan will turn itself back on.
Needless to say they are calling the company that installed the radon mitigation in the morning to have the system checked out.