Your Home's Floorplan Affects Its Energy Efficiency

By Shelley Frost

February 15, 2025

You shut off lights when you're not in the room, lower your thermostat and seal gaps as soon as you spot them. So why does your home still use so much energy?

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It could be something that's more challenging to change: your floorplan. An energy-efficient home design floorplan could help lower your bills and keep you more comfortable.

Can the Layout of Your Home Impact Its Energy Efficiency?

The floorplan of your home impacts energy efficiency because the design can affect how well you can heat and cool the space. Two common design decisions are one-story vs. two-story homes and open vs. traditional floorplans.

Open Vs. Traditional Floorplan

Open floorplans may require more heating and cooling power to reach an ideal temperature in a large, open space. However, they may make up for that in other ways. Smaller open floorplans still give you a spacious feel while having less square footage overall to heat and cool. Air circulation is better in an open floorplan, which helps create consistent temperatures throughout the home. Traditional floorplans with every room separated tend to have less air circulation and may require more complex ductwork to heat and cool all rooms efficiently.

While energy efficiency often focuses on the HVAC system, lighting is another key area where you can save money. With open floorplans, natural sunlight is able to reach more areas, which could cut down on how much supplemental lighting you need during the day. At night, you might not need as many individual light fixtures or lamps to illuminate the space.

While the ample natural light helps with lighting costs, it can also impact heating and cooling. In the winter, the natural sunlight provides some heat for the home. However, in the summer, all the natural sunlight can make your home warmer and increase your need for your air conditioner, which could decrease the home's energy efficiency.

One-Story Vs. Two-Story

Two-story homes might seem less efficient because they have two separate floors to heat, but they have advantages when it comes to energy use. The smaller overall footprint means a two-story home has a smaller roof and foundation, which helps reduce energy loss in those areas.

You may run into an issue with inconsistent temperatures between the floors in a two-story home, though. Because hot air rises, you may notice that your upper level feels warmer than the lower level year-round. Your HVAC system may need to work harder to overcome that issue.

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How Can You Overcome Some of These Challenges to Improve Energy Efficiency?

If you already live in a home with a less-than-efficient floorplan, you can't simply change the layout. Here are some tips to consider that can help maintain even temperatures:

Zoned heating with dampers. In a zoned system, you can control temperatures and airflow to different rooms efficiently. In a two-story home, it can help create consistent temperatures on both floors. In a traditional layout, you can adjust the dampers to control airflow to different rooms.
Ceiling fans. Installing ceiling fans can improve the airflow in all types of floorplans, particularly traditional layouts where circulation might be more limited. Changing the direction of the fans for summer and winter helps maximize their use.
Energy audit. Having a professional energy audit performed helps you identify the areas where you're losing heat or wasting energy. It's tailored to your home specifically rather than offering general advice on energy efficiency, so you may get better results from the recommended changes.
Maintenance. Regardless of your floorplan, keeping your HVAC system in peak condition helps it work more efficiently. Change the air filters regularly to prevent them from getting clogged. Professional HVAC maintenance at least once per year is an easy way to find and fix problems early. The technician will often clean, lubricate and tighten parts during the tune-up to keep the system working as efficiently as possible.
Ductwork updates. Having ductwork that's correctly installed is especially important for closed floorplans to make sure the air flows to all rooms efficiently. If you notice inconsistent temperatures or airflow issues, have your ductwork inspected to make sure it's installed properly and in good condition.

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