What Happens When You Don’t Change Your Furnace’s Air Filter
One of the most basic issues that we encounter at Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning in Fort Lauderdale is dusty air filters. They might seem like a very insignificant piece of the whole home comfort puzzle, but the role they play in helping us maintain comfort is a lot larger than most homeowners notice. Regardless if it is cooling season or heating season, having a clogged air filter can cause a variety of problems for your heating and AC system.
So what exactly happens when you don’t remember to change your air filter? Here are a just a handful of the side effects you may encounter:
- Reduced airflow. This is easily the biggest headache you’ll recognize when your home’s air filter is badly clogged. The longer the air filter goes without being switched, the more dirt, dust and other particles build up. Of course, this prevents air from passing through the filter as it should, meaning your system is working quite a bit harder to give you the same amount of air.
- Frozen coil. If your system is operating harder due to a dirty air filter, you also run the chance of having the cooling coil freeze inside of the system, because it’s operating overtime to leave you with cool air.
- Total loss of cooling or heating. This is also a threat if your air filter goes unchanged for months and months on end. In essence, you will have worked your system so hard that something quits working or wears out and needs to be replaced or serviced.
- Short cycling. Short cycling means the heating and cooling system turns on and off more than it should. When your system short cycles, it may overheat or break down from the added work, possibly causing damage to your system.
In addition to these, you can also expect:
- A shortened equipment lifecycle
- Reduced energy efficiency
- Diminished air quality
- Increase in dust and debris
- Lack of comfort
If you’re not sure when you last changed your air filter, it may be a good time to do so in order to get around any possible damage that may come with a clogged air filter. If you don’t know where your home’s air filter is located or you simply have a question about the various air filters available, give Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning a call at 954-736-4314 or schedule an appointment online.