In our previous post, we discussed how a clogged air filter can impact your heating system. But it’s not just your heater you should worry about, especially in our part of the country. Your air filter impacts both of your New Braunfels, TX HVAC systems–your heater and your forced air cooling system. But changing your air filter is a maintenance task you can, and should, do on your own.
You’ve likely noticed that we encourage you to leave the overall maintenance to the professionals. Our staff is highly trained and experienced in thoroughly inspecting, cleaning, and adjusting your air conditioning and heat systems to ensure they work as efficiently and effectively as possible—for the years to come. But if you want to keep your heater and cooling system in the best working condition possible, then you can’t go 6 months to a year without changing your air filter!
With a dirty or clogged air filter, you will:
Pay More to Heat and Cool Your Home
Throughout the country, homeowners often dread the cost of heating their homes during the winter season or cooling it during the summer. Around here, we’re mostly concerned with the latter, however that’s not to say our heaters don’t pay the price for a clogged or dirty air filter. You should never have to pay more than is necessary to operate your HVAC system, no matter what time of the year it is.
But by leaving an air filter in your forced-air heater or air conditioning longer than you’re supposed to, this is the problem you’ll come against. Your HVAC system has to force conditioned air through the filter if it’s going to heat or cool your home. When that filter is too dirty, it’s more difficult for the system to do its job. Eventually, this result in your HVAC system using more energy than it otherwise would, and this will soon be reflected in higher cooling costs.
Put Unnecessary Wear and Tear on the System
The harder your heater or AC system has to work to do its job, the more wear and tear it will accumulate. Of course, your system is going to suffer from natural wear and tear over the course of its lifespan.
However, forcing it to work harder than is really necessary by leaving a dirty air filter in place is going to increase this wear and tear exponentially—leading to increased risk of system damage as well as a shortened lifespan.
Receive Less Comfort
When your system has a very dirty and clogged filter in it, it can overheat. This leads to short cycling, the process that describes a system turning on and off too rapidly and too frequently. When this occurs, you’re going to struggle to heat or cool your home evenly and effectively.
You might also notice that your indoor air quality is dropping, as air travels through gaps between the filter and its frame, rather than the clogged up air filter. If you want to avoid overexerting your system, while paying more for less comfort, then it’s important to be diligent about changing the air filter as needed (once every 1-3 months depending on how heavily used the system is and the level of contaminants in the home).
To schedule your routine professional HVAC maintenance in the greater San Antonio area, simply contact Cowboys Air Conditioning & Heating today.