What Happens When You Don't Change Your Furnace's Air Filter

One of the most routine problems that we come acress at Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning in Roanoke is filthy air filters. They may seem like a very insignificant piece of the overall home comfort puzzle, but the role they play in helping us maintain comfort is a lot larger than most homeowners recognize. Regardless if it is cooling season or heating season, having a dirty air filter can cause a variety of issues for your heating and AC system.

So what exactly happens when you don’t remember to switch out your air filter? Here are a just a few of the side effects you could encounter:

• Reduced airflow. This is easily the greatest headache you’ll notice 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 inhibits air from passing through the filter as it should, meaning your system is working significantly harder to provide you with the same amount of air.
• Frozen coil. If your system is operating harder due to a clogged air filter, you also run the danger 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 probability if your air filter goes unchanged 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, which could end up causing damage to your system.

In addition to these, you can also expect:

• A shorter equipment lifecycle
• Decreased energy efficiency
• Diminished air quality
• Increase in dust and debris
• Lack of comfort