What Happens When You Don’t Change Your Furnace’s Air Filter
One of the most routine issues that we hear about at Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning in Fort Lauderdale is filthy air filters. They can seem like a very tiny piece of the overall home comfort puzzle, but the role they play in helping us control comfort is a lot bigger than most homeowners notice. Regardless if it is cooling season or heating season, having a clogged air filter can cause a host of concerns 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 couple of the side effects you might encounter:
- Reduced airflow. This is easily the largest headache you’ll notice when your home’s air filter is badly clogged. The longer the air filter goes without being swapped out, the more dirt, dust and other particles build up. Of course, this inhibits air from passing through the filter as it should, meaning your system is working a lot harder to leave you with the same amount of air.
- Frozen coil. If your system is working harder due to a filthy air filter, you also run the chance of having the cooling coil freeze inside of the system, because it’s working overtime to provide you with cool air.
- Total loss of cooling or heating. This is also a threat if your air filter goes neglected for months and months on end. In essence, you will have worked your system so hard that something breaks or wears out and needs to be replaced or serviced.
- Short cycling. Short cycling means the heating and cooling system turns on and off all the time. When your system short cycles, it can overheat or break down from the added work, possibly causing damage to your system.
In addition to these, you can also expect:
- A shorter equipment lifecycle
- Decreased energy efficiency
- Diminished air quality
- Greater dust and debris
- Lack of comfort
If you’re not sure when you last swapped out your air filter, it may be a good time to do so in order to avert any possible damage that might come with a filthy air filter. If you don’t know where your home’s air filter is located or you simply have a question about the number of air filters available, give Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning a call at 954-736-4314 or schedule an appointment online.