I'm in Utah County. At first I checked the water every day it was below freezing just to see that it was coming on and make sure the light was on, and all was well. After that I just checked it as I changed the water and on extreme cold days. Checking it at a glance while visiting the girls, checking for eggs and scooping poo out of sand, is no trouble at all. My coop has a light on a timer but is open door and uninsulated, it is however somewhat protected from the wind. My feeder only needs refilling every week with no spillage so we are very self contained