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

One of the most common concerns that we hear about at Stevenson Service Experts in Dayton is dusty air filters. They can seem like a very insignificant piece of the whole home comfort puzzle, but the role they play in helping us control comfort is a lot bigger than most homeowners recognize. Regardless if it is cooling season or heating season, having a clogged air filter can cause a host of concerns for your heating and AC system.

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

• Diminished airflow. This is easily the greatest issue you’ll notice when your home’s air filter is severely clogged. The longer the air filter goes without being swapped out, 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 a lot harder to provide you with the same amount of air.
• Frozen coil. If your system is operating harder because of a dirty air filter, you also run the danger of having the cooling coil freeze inside of the system, because it’s operating overtime to leave you with cool air.
• Total loss of cooling or heating. This is also a probability 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, possibly causing damage to your system.

In addition to these, you can also expect:

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