I have to admit that I am very frugal, but I have to be with my large family. When heating and air-conditioning bills were just becoming too much to bear, I finally caved in and bought new windows that I was told were more energy-efficient. They weren't as expensive as I thought they would be, which was great news. I had them installed just before winter began, and I received the lowest heating bill for the month of November that I had received in years! I was so happy that I had those windows installed, especially after being so hesitant to spend the cash on them. I created this blog to help other frugal people like me realize that sometimes spending money on home improvements really does pay off in the long run! I am now looking into new home insulation to save even more cash!
If you've just moved from an older home or apartment to a newer residence, especially one that has a newer central air conditioning unit, you may have noticed something funny going on. Running the air conditioner suddenly makes the doors to individual rooms much harder to open. There is nothing actually wrong, however -- you're just finding out how well-sealed your rooms are. But you should take that as a hint to keep more doors open when the air conditioner is running because that will help keep your system running efficiently.
Added Pressure
When the air conditioner is on, it's blowing air into a room, thus adding to the amount of air in the room. If the door to the room is open, other air will be pushed out of the room. If the door is closed, however, the other air will have a harder time getting out. There won't be as many ways for it to leave, and that will place the walls and door of the room under pressure. So that extra air will actually press against the door, making it harder to open because you'll have to pull against the force of the air.
Obviously, your average room isn't airtight. Air can get out under the door, through window weepholes, and other small openings. It just can't exit in the same amounts as the new air that's being blown in.
That can actually force your air conditioner to work harder. Surprisingly, the air being lost under the door can lead to outside air being sucked in through other openings, such as small cracks in the wall or around the window. (You'd think that the air pressure in the room would turn all those openings into exit routes for the extra air in the room, but no.) That hotter air makes the air conditioner work more to cool that hotter air down.
Better Circulation
Keeping your home's internal doors open helps air circulate more freely, thus making the air pressure in each room less troublesome and thus reducing the amount of outside air that is sucked in. You can still close doors for privacy, but if you can, leave the doors open.
If you have more questions about how your air conditioner affects the air inside your home, call an air conditioning repair company today. They can help you ensure that you're using the right type and size of air conditioning unit for your home. The techs can also help you modify the doors to the rooms so that more air can circulate when the doors are closed.
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