Should interior doors be open or closed in hot weather? Experts share their tips

During the fleeting summer months, sweaty days and sleepless nights can become all too familiar. While most of us will prefer this to shivering under a blanket, a hot summer comes with its own host of hurdles –namely, how to stay cool.

If you're looking for some home hacks on how to keep a home cool in a heatwave at home, you may be interested in whether interior doors should be open or closed in hot weather. Luckily, the experts are on hand to break down the pros and cons. Let's dive into the details.

Should I keep interior doors open or closed in hot weather?

The general advice is to keep interior doors open during hot weather, allowing effective airflow and circulation of air throughout the house. If the temperature outside is cooler than inside, opening your windows will let stuffy air out and let a fresh breeze in, which will be able to move throughout your space if your interior doors are open.

'I always recommend keeping interior doors open during summer, especially in two-story homes,' says Allen Chenault, heating, ventilation and AC expert at AC's Heating & Air. 'This allows cool air to circulate properly between rooms and levels, maintaining an even temperature.'

Maximize your aircon

While there are many air-conditioning types, if you do have air conditioning in your home, opening interior doors will always allow the cool air produced to circulate freely throughout your space. 'This creates a consistent cooler temperature throughout the home,' says Max Veggeberg, CEO and founder of Tetra.

Keeping the temperature more consistent will also prevent hotspots in your home. 'This makes your cooling system more efficient due to no overworked cooling of isolated areas,' says Yashar Mosaferi, HVAC expert and president of Klondike AC.

'Proper air circulation will also reduce humidity, building an indoors that is comfortable in several ways,' he adds.

If you don't have aircon, eco-cooling is also a great option, as it's cheaper, more sustainable and kinder to the planet. Keep your doors open and consider investing in a fan.

When to keep doors closed

It may seem counter-productive, but sometimes it is also recommended to keep your interior doors closed. As Felicia Wilkes, a home climate specialist at A-One Refrigeration & Heating Inc, explains.

'If the cooled air is centralized (like with an AC unit), keeping interior doors open helps circulate that cool air more evenly throughout the home,' she says. 'If you have window AC units in specific rooms, closing the doors to those rooms traps the cool air and prevents it from being diluted by warmer air from other areas of the house.'

For example, closing your bedroom door in the evening, if you have air conditioning in that room, can be hugely beneficial to a good night's sleep, as it will prevent the cool air from escaping into other areas of the house. 'Closed doors can isolate cool air in specific areas of the house, which could be worthwhile if the goal is to focus cool air on an isolated room,' says Veggeberg.

Closing doors can also trap cool air in rooms that you use often throughout the day, such as your kitchen and living space, without losing cool air unnecessarily to rooms you tend to stay out of.

'To put this into practice, homeowners can close interior doors to rooms they don’t use as often to focus the air on the areas of the house that are the most frequented,' recommends Veggeberg. Of course, this depends on where your air-con unit is located.

FAQs

Is it better to open or close windows on a hot day?

As a general rule of thumb, always keep your windows closed when the temperature outside is warmer than in.

This may seem counterproductive, but having your windows open during warm weather will actually increase the temperature in your home by letting hot air in.

Instead, open your windows in the evening or whenever the temperature outside starts to drop to keep your home cool.

We explore the best window film to block heat in our dedicated shopping feature.

Should you keep curtains closed in hot weather?

As well as keeping your windows closed, it is typically advised to keep your curtains closed during the hours of peak sunlight.

This will block hot sun rays from entering your home, and create much-needed shady pockets of space. For more guidance, we look at whether blackout curtains keep heat out in our dedicated piece.

With increased airflow and circulation, your home will be summer-ready whatever the weather. When navigating the summer heat in your home, be sure to avoid what not to do in a heatwave.