You’ve probably heard that changing your air filter regularly is a good idea. What you may not know is why it’s so important to keep your air filter clean, and there are more reasons than you might think.
Let’s explore all the benefits of replacing or cleaning your filter; these rules apply whether you’re using a furnace, an air conditioner, or a heat pump. Most of them even apply to ventilation systems. Let’s dive in!
Keep Your Air Clean & Safe
This is the most obvious benefit of replacing your air filter regularly. Air filters trap all of the dust, pollen, dander, and other particles floating around in your home’s air. When you replace or clean your air filter regularly, you improve your indoor air quality.
Regularly replacing or cleaning your air filters improves indoor air quality for two reasons: The first is that a clean filter can trap airborne irritants much more effectively than a clogged filter. The second is that dirty air filters can actually send particles back into the air, decreasing indoor air quality.
Replacing air filters regularly is especially important if you have children, pets, friends, and/or family members suffering from allergies or respiratory conditions.
Improve Energy Efficiency
A clean air filter does more than just improve air quality—it makes your HVAC unit run more efficiently.
HVAC systems force air through filters in order to remove particles. When those filters are clogged, the HVAC unit works harder to keep air circulating. This means that you’ll end up paying more each month on your energy bill; when these units work harder, they consume more electricity.
Clean filters are much easier to push air through, and HVAC units are designed to work with relatively clean filters. You may find that you end up saving money by replacing air filters regularly; the increases to your energy bill can add up quickly!
Help Prevent Major Issues
Your HVAC system is durable but sensitive—a clogged air filter can cause various issues.
As we mentioned above, clogged filters make your HVAC system work harder. This can lead to wear and tear—clogged filters cut the lifespan of your HVAC system short.
Clogged filters can end up causing damage to heat exchangers, compressors, and other essential components of your HVAC system. Repairing these systems can be quite costly. Your furnace may shut off entirely when a dirty air filter is installed; this is an automated process because the lack of airflow caused by clogged filters can seriously damage your furnace.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure—changing your air filter regularly can save you a lot of time and money!
Better Temperature Control
Heating and cooling are the two things most people have at the top of their minds when they think of an HVAC system. An inefficient system is worse at heating and cooling your home, and you’ll find that you have less control over your home’s temperature if your air filter isn’t replaced regularly.
Why? The reason is simple—when your air filter is clogged, it’s going to be more difficult for the hot or cold air to circulate through your home. When air circulates slowly, it’s more prone to getting warmer or colder because it’s stuck in one place and has more time to lose or gain heat from the ambient air surrounding it.
By changing your air filter regularly (and ensuring that all of your vents are unblocked), you’ll have much greater control over your home’s temperature. What’s more, you won’t have to turn the AC or heat up nearly as much—and that means you’ll save money!
Why Should You Change Your Air Filter?
As we’ve just learned above, there are several very good reasons to change your air filter:
- You’ll save money.
- You’ll live more comfortably.
- You’ll prolong the lifespan of your HVAC system.
- You’ll reduce how often you need to repair your HVAC system.
- You’ll reduce airborne contaminants and improve air quality.
Changing your air filter regularly has a host of incredible benefits. Your air filter is an integral part of your overall HVAC system—and it’s a part that’s easy for you to maintain without any assistance.
How Often Should You Change Your Air Filter?
How often you should change your air filter depends on a variety of different factors.
The rule of thumb is that you should change your filter once a season—every 3 months. You might want to change your filter more frequently if:
- You smoke indoors
- You have pets
- You have young children or live with seniors
- You, your family, or regular house guests have allergies or other respiratory conditions
- You’re using a lower quality air filter (unpleated fiberglass filters are a good example)
As you can imagine, these factors compound—someone with pets, young children, and a history of asthma should probably change their air filter on a monthly basis, while someone with only one of these factors might change their air filter every 60 days.
Require Professional Service? Call Classic Air Conditioning & Heating
Changing air filters is a relatively simple task—we can show you how to do it when we install or maintain your HVAC system, and you’ll be able to do it yourself from then on.
By changing your air filters regularly, you won’t need to worry about getting repairs as often. Even if you’re extremely diligent about changing the air filters, all HVAC systems need repairs eventually.
When your system isn’t working, Classic can help. We’ve got years of experience installing, repairing, and maintaining air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, and more. We’ve got you covered whether you’re dealing with a minor issue or total system failure.
We can even help you choose the best air filters for your system. When you’ve got questions or concerns about HVAC, there’s only one name you need to remember: Classic Air Conditioning and Heating.
