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

One of the most routine concerns that we encounter at Roy Inch & Sons Home Services by Enercare in London is dirty air filters. They can seem like a very small piece of the whole 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 dirty air filter can cause a variety of concerns for your heating and AC system.

So what exactly happens when you don’t remember to switch out your air filter? Here are a just a couple of the side effects you may encounter:

• Reduced airflow. This is easily the greatest problem you’ll notice when your home’s air filter is severely clogged. The longer the air filter goes without being changed, 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 provide you with the same amount of air.
• Frozen coil. If your system is working 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 operating 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 gives out 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 may overheat or break down from the added work, possibly causing damage to your system.

In addition to these, you can also expect:

• A shortened equipment lifecycle
• Reduced energy efficiency
• Decreased air quality
• Greater dust and debris
• Lack of comfort