Do you use a forced air heating system in order to heat your home, such as a furnace or a heat pump? If so, you need to make sure that your system is able to force air throughout your home successfully and with minimal interference. If the air filter in your furnace or heat pump is too dirty, this is simply not the case.
Keeping a fresh air filter in your heat pump or furnace in New Canaan, CT should be a top priority. It is one of the best ways in which you yourself can help to protect the performance and condition of your heater. Don’t let a dirty air filter lead to serious problems.
- Reduced Energy Efficiency: A dirty air filter can hit homeowners right where many feel it the most: in their wallets. The standard air filters that furnaces or heat pumps use really are very affordable, so saving a few bucks is no reason to let your air filter slip by unchanged. In fact, leaving a dirty air filter in place will have the exact opposite result. A dirty air filter is going to increase airflow resistance in the system. That means your system will have to work harder to heat your home, and that will be reflected in higher heating costs.
- Reduced Indoor Air Quality: Up next on the list of your dirty air filter’s victims: indoor air quality. Now, there are designated air filters with higher MERVs (minimum efficiency reporting value) that are designed to boost the indoor air quality in your home. Your basic HVAC air filter is not really there to do this, but to protect your HVAC system itself from issues caused by a buildup of pollutants. That being said, a very dirty air filter of any kind will result in reduced indoor air quality, and may even cause unfiltered air to work its way around the filter entirely. The path of least resistance will come into play.
- Reduced Performance Quality: Finally, there is the overall performance quality of your heater to consider. The simple fact is that your heater is not going to give you its best performance if that performance is hindered by a dirty air filter. The system may overheat and start short cycling if heat is trapped in the system due to a dirty filter. This also increases the risk of damage to the system.
Call T&H Mechanical Systems if you have any questions about the air filter in your forced air heating system.