Is it better to open or close all room doors in the house when it comes to saving money on the heating bill?

Question

Is it better to open or close all room doors in the house when it comes to saving money on the heating bill?

Answer 1

If the home has central air and heat, you want to keep the doors open to allow the proper flow of air through the home.  Closing off rooms that are 'not used' is not a great idea either for it is better to heat/cool the room than to allow that room to reach a temperature different from the rest of the house.  Keep in mind that ONLY the outside walls are insulated so you let one inside room become cold, that cold will easily move into the rest of home through the uninsulated walls.

Now, if you have window units and/or space heaters and there are rooms that are not being used, you may find some saving by closing the doors.

Good luck and I hope this helps!

Answer 2

wrkey's right.  sort of.  with a couple of exceptions.  (i think)

if you have stairs, and you can close a door to them, you probably should.

heat will flow up the stair well, and it'll be hotter upstairs than down.

in addition, i think if there's a room that you don't use, you should close it off, and close the heater vent.

it's true that there will be some heat going into the room, but not nearly as much as there would if the heater vent was open.

by far the best thing you can do is insulate your windows.

i put a layer of plastic over mine many years ago, in my apt, and my heating requirement declined drastically.

Answer 3

The only doors you should close would be the ones leading outside and the doors to rooms that you don't use.  You should also close the vents in these rooms.  Just remember that every time you open a door to a closed off room, you're using more energy.