Why Should I Change My HVAC Air Filter?
How Often Should I Change My HVAC Air Filter
Your commercial or residential HVAC system is an essential and expensive building system. It is designed to make indoor space safe and comfortable by heating, cooling, cleaning, and moving air.
A vital component of your HVAC system is one or more HVAC air filters, usually cleaning the air before it moves through the unit and is pushed through ducts positioned throughout your building.
Your system without a filter
Your filter(s) need to be changed regularly. To illustrate the reason for changing filters, let’s imagine your HVAC system WITHOUT a filter. The system would continue to heat, cool, and move air, but it would circulate air without removing dust, pollen, pet hair, and pollutants.
These particles would be very visible on your coffee table and your hardwood floors, but they would cover everything. Indoor air quality would suffer, so the outdoors would be preferable.
If dust particles are coating surfaces in your home, dust would also concentrate inside the HVAC; inside ducts, returns and components. Every component would be covered in a layer of heavy dust, and lose efficiency.
In addition, fine dust particles would infiltrate the motor bearings, causing friction and failure. Dust might be unsafe in your home, but it would quickly cause your HVAC system to run inefficiently and fail.
Adding an HVAC air filter, but never changing it
Okay, you are convinced and install the filter but you are not convinced it needs to be changed regularly. What is next? The filter would work correctly and filter dust and other particles on the surface of the filter. However, soon the dust layer would be thick enough to slow the flow of air through the filter.
The blower motor pushes a lot of air through the system to make indoor space safe and comfortable, so dust in the filter would make the blower work harder. A dirty filter reduces airflow, making your home less comfortable and also reduces the life of your very expensive HVAC system.
Every time you change your filter, you remove all the trapped dust from your home and your HVAC system. It doesn’t show up on your coffee table and it doesn’t ruin your blower motor. How often should you change your air filter?
Manufacturers typically recommend replacing filters every 30-60 days, but several factors, such as allergies, pets, and a number of family members. If you have breathing issues, allergies or asthma you might need to change filters more often.
Have Questions About Your HVAC Air Filter?
Doctor Cool and Professor Heat are independent American Standard dealers with over four decades of HVAC Air Filter and HVAC maintenance and furnace repair installation and repair experience.
Call Doctor Cool & Professor Heat today at 281-338-8751 or email Doctor Cool. The longer you ignore or put off making the call, the longer it will be before you improve your indoor air quality.
