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

One of the most routine concerns that we hear about at Chief/Bauer Service Experts in Champaign is dusty air filters. They might 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 greater than most homeowners notice. Regardless if it is cooling season or heating season, having a dirty air filter can cause a number of concerns for your heating and AC system.

So what exactly happens when you neglect to swap out your air filter? Here are a just a couple 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 prevents 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 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 working overtime to leave you with 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 all the time. 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 shortened equipment lifecycle
• Reduced energy efficiency
• Decreased air quality
• More dust and debris
• Lack of comfort