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

One of the most basic issues that we encounter at McKinley Heating Service Experts in Edmonton is dusty air filters. They might seem like a very tiny piece of the overall home comfort puzzle, but the role they play in helping us maintain comfort is a lot larger than most homeowners notice. Regardless if it is cooling season or heating season, having a dirty air filter can cause a variety of issues for your heating and AC system.

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

• Decreased airflow. This is easily the largest issue you’ll note when your home’s air filter is badly 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 operating harder because of a dirty air filter, you also run the chance of having the cooling coil freeze inside of the system, because it’s running overtime to provide you with cool air.
• Total loss of cooling or heating. This is also a probability 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 more than it should. When your system short cycles, it can overheat or break down from the added work, potentially causing damage to your system.

In addition to these, you can also expect:

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