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

One of the most basic issues that we come acress at Norrell Service Experts in Birmingham is dusty air filters. They can seem like a very tiny piece of the whole home comfort puzzle, but the role they play in helping us control comfort is a lot larger than most homeowners notice. Regardless if it is cooling season or heating season, having a filthy air filter can cause a number of problems for your heating and AC system.

So what exactly happens when you neglect to change your air filter? Here are a just a few of the side effects you might encounter:

• Decreased airflow. This is easily the biggest problem you’ll recognize 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 significantly harder to provide you with the same amount of air.
• Frozen coil. If your system is running harder due to a clogged air filter, you also run the chance of having the cooling coil freeze inside of the system, because it’s running overtime to give you cool air.
• Total loss of cooling or heating. This is also a possibility 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 excessively. 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
• Lower energy efficiency
• Lower air quality
• Greater dust and debris
• Lack of comfort