Heating Tips For A Cape Cod Home

Cape Cod homes have an adorable facade and a convenient, compact layout. But if there is one downfall of this architectural style, it's that these homes are really tough to heat evenly. With no true "attic," the top floor can lose a lot of heat if it's not perfectly insulated. Plus, the central placement of a single duct stack, which was really common in these homes when they were laid out in the 1950s and 1960s, does not give you a lot of flexibility when it comes to adding or moving vents. Thankfully, there are a few tips you can follow to more comfortably and efficiently heat your Cape Cod home.

1. Leave the fan on longer.

These homes tend to struggle with air circulation, in general. One way to improve air circulation and make sure the heated air gets distributed more evenly is to leave the central fan on longer. Usually, you can do this by simply turning your thermostat's fan setting from "auto" to "on." On the auto setting, the fan will run only when the heat kicks on. On the "on" setting, the fan will run continually, whether or not the heat is on. You don't have to leave the fan on 24/7, but letting it run for an hour here and there throughout the day will keep your Cape Cod home from getting those dreaded hot and cold spots.

2. Close a couple of downstairs vents if your top floor is not getting enough heat.

In more modern homes, closing vents is not always a good idea since it can cause too much pressure to build up in certain ducts. But in a Cape Cod home, where all the air flows through one central duct stack, closing a vent or two downstairs won't do any harm. It will just mean there's more air left to flow through the upstairs vents, which can keep your top floors a bit warmer on a cold winter's day.

3. Install more insulation.

When these homes were built, people were not as concerned about efficiency, so there was often only one layer of insulation put down in the attic space. Check your attic to see if this is the case. If so, add a second layer of insulation. Since Cape Cod homes tend to have short, crawlspace-like attics, laying down this layer of insulation can be a bit of a challenge. If you can't fit in the attic space to put insulation down, consider having a professional come install blown-in insulation. It will help keep so much heat from escaping from your home.

Heating Cape Cod homes evenly and fully can be a bit challenging, but with the tips above, you can have a more comfortable home in no time. For any questions you might have about heating, contact a local expert.

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