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

One of the most basic problems that we hear about at Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning in Cleveland is dirty air filters. They can seem like a very small piece of the big home comfort puzzle, but the role they play in helping us maintain comfort is a lot greater than most homeowners recognize. Regardless if it is cooling season or heating season, having a clogged air filter can cause a number of issues for your heating and AC system.

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

• Decreased airflow. This is easily the biggest issue you’ll note 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 hinders air from passing through the filter as it should, meaning your system is working quite a bit harder to give you the same amount of air.
• Frozen coil. If your system is operating 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 working overtime to give you cool air.
• Total loss of cooling or heating. This is also a possibility if your air filter goes unattended for months and months on end. In essence, you will have worked your system so hard that something quits working or wears out and needs to be replaced or serviced.
• Short cycling. Short cycling means the heating and cooling system turns on and off more than it should. When your system short cycles, it may 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
• Decreased air quality
• Greater dust and debris
• Lack of comfort