By admin

Heating your home can get expensive, even if you live in the warmer climate of Georgetown, Texas. Still, temperatures can dip below freezing here. That means homeowners have to make a choice between comfort and energy costs. So it makes sense to look for ways to keep your home warm without the furnace running. One question homeowners ask us frequently is whether it makes sense to close doors to keep warm air in a specific room.

Closing doors to spaces in your home is a great way to separate living spaces in your home. After all, closing doors is a great way to provide privacy. But does it make sense to keep them closed all the time?

Here in Georgetown, most homes have a central HVAC system with ductwork. When your home comfort system is operating, it uses a blower fan to pull air from your spaces and push it through the coil and back to the rooms in your home. Air needs to be able to move around freely in order to be the most efficient. 

A closed door is an obstruction to the natural flow of air in your home. With an open door, air can pass freely through the full opening of the door. But when a door is closed, air can only pass through the undercut opening and through any cracks around the edges. If you have multiple doors closed in sequence, it can compound the airflow problem.

Over the years, you may have kept doors closed to prevent warming specific rooms in order to save energy. It’s a common misconception that shutting doors to rooms will save you on your heating bills. Even if you find that it’s effective in temperature control, this approach forces your HVAC system to work overtime. This can cause long-term damage to the system.

Plus, closing doors can cause indoor air quality problems. Again, the key here is to make sure air in your home is circulating and not getting stagnant. 

If you’re experiencing uneven heating (like hot spots or cold spots) we can help you troubleshoot. Alternatively, if you just don’t need heating in certain areas of the home, the experts at DTC can help make sure you have a working solution (such as a zoning system) that won’t cause operational or efficiency problems. 

This is a simple one, y’all! Keep the doors open to ensure the best performance by your furnace. Keeping your interior doors open while heating your home will help prevent unnecessary problems with airflow. Bonus: you’ll spend less on your utility bills.

There is one time to keep your interior doors closed – and that’s when anyone is asleep inside of a room. Be sure to close before you doze – it could save your life in the event of a fire. 

For more tips and information about keeping your home comfortable year-round, follow our blog! We update our blog monthly with new tips, information, and frequently asked questions from our customers (like this one!). DTC provides top-notch heating and cooling services to Georgetown, Texas and surrounding areas. Call us for service: 512-887-5091.   

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