How Fresh Is Your Air Conditioning Filter?

man-with-filterHopefully the answer to the question posed in the title of this post is “as clean as it needs to be.” If you have explored this blog or our website, you know that we do not advocate for DIY services when it comes to your HVAC systems. This includes the routine air conditioning maintenance that your system will need to excel in its operation and to function at peak efficiency levels. While the vast majority of your air conditioning maintenance should be left to trained professionals, there is one important task to handle on your own.

This is to keep a fresh air filter in your air conditioner in Bellows Falls, VT. This may sound like a minor point of consideration to you, but trust us. If you fail to keep a fresh filter in your air conditioning system, your air conditioner is going to fail you in a number of ways. The effects may not be instant, and your system may not break down entirely just because you missed a single filter change. Over time, though, you can expect to encounter various problems.

Why Is a Clean Air Filter So Important?

There are a number of ways in which keeping a clean filter in your system will benefit you. Not only does a clean filter benefit you, though. A dirty one actively impedes the operation of your system, putting its condition and your own comfort in jeopardy. Consider the following risks, and you will likely begin to see the importance of a clean air filter for yourself.

  • Indoor air quality. If your air filter is very dirty as it sits in your running AC system, your indoor air quality can really start to suffer. Now, this filter may not be there to improve your indoor air quality — that requires designated, more efficient filtration — but it can act as a detriment to your air quality if it’s too dirty. If the filter creates too much airflow resistance, the air trying to pass through it, and the pollutants it carries, can bypass the filter and get into the air distribution system, i.e. your ductwork.
  • Short cycling. Does your air conditioner start up, run only very briefly, and then shut back down again? If so, you should know that this is not its proper operating cycle. It is short cycling, and the wear and tear of starting up over and over in rapid succession will waste energy and put your system at risk of unnecessary wear and tear and repair needs.
  • Icing. No, we don’t mean the icing on the cake — though this particular issue just may be the final nail in the coffin, if we’re speaking in metaphors. When there is not enough airflow resistance over the evaporator coil, often due to a dirty air filter, the coil gets too cold. Then, the condensation on it freezes. When that happens, and insulating barrier is created, and the problem snowballs — iceballs? — from there.

Call HB Energy Solutions for all your energy needs. HB Energy Solutions delivers peace of mind.

Comments are closed.