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One of the questions that many HVAC companies get on a regular basis is “can you reduce heating and cooling costs by shutting the doors in your home?” This isn’t a simple question and there are a number of concerns that go into answering it.

Shut the Front Door

First, it is important to differentiate what doors need to be shut. When possible, keeping your main doors closed will help your HVAC system to be more efficient—unless, of course you have temporarily shut it off to enjoy fresh air during spring or fall. Keeping your front or back door open allows hot or cold air to get in the house and will cause your HVAC unit to work harder.

What About Interior Doors

On the other hand, if you are worried about whether you should close interior doors, especially to rooms that you don’t use, this is a different story. In most cases, you will NOT want to do this. Your HVAC system will still use the same amount of energy and by closing the door you disrupt the flow of air throughout the house. Even if you close the vent, you can change the pressure in the system and reduce overall efficiency—rather than improve it.

Talk to an Expert

If there are rooms in your home that you don’t use often and you are worried that heating or cooling them are affecting your energy bill, it may be worth speaking to an expert about the situation. Reach out to an HVAC installation company, such as Cox Heating & Air Conditioning to find out if there is a better solution. After all, no one likes to feel like they are wasting money on their utilities!

The open-door situation is certainly a complex matter and one that you must put some thought into before you do anything that could risk harming your HVAC system. Just remember, you are likely not spending that much extra to keep the additional room heated or cooled and you always have access to the space for storage or guests if needed. There are many other ways that you can work to cut down your bill and improve efficiency.