Air filters clean the air flowing through the ducts in your home. Therefore, thanks to these filters’ actions, you get to enjoy clean and adequately conditioned ventilation in your home. Nonetheless, “when you work with dirt, you are bound to get dirty,” and the same is the case for air filters. Thus, with time, bags of dust and other suspended air particles clog air filters. Once dirty, the filters’ performance starts to taper off, and you will begin to feel certain signs.
Telltale Signs Of A Dirty HVAC Air Filter.
Unpleasant Physical Symptoms: A dirty, clogged filter means a “free pass” for common allergens like pollen, spores, dust, and bacteria. Eventually, these allergens’ concentrations will rise to the point that you will feel their presence through irritation in the eyes or lungs. Symptoms can be more severe if you suffer from allergies or asthma.
Uneven cooling: A messy air filter obstructs warm airflow to the evaporator coil. As a result, the air’s heat removal is not up to par, and the below-par performance will be reflected in uneven cooling. Generally, you will feel that while one room is chilled, the other room doesn’t show signs of cooling. Moreover, while the thermostat shows a specific temperature, the room temperature will seem comparatively warm. In a nutshell, dirty air filters adversely affect the HVAC’s cooling and your comfort.
High Electricity Bills: We have already established that air filters impact the efficiency of your HVAC unit. Therefore, to produce the same or similar work(cooling), the unit’s electricity consumption skyrockets. Unfortunately, this will result in high electricity bills.
How Do Dirty Filters Affect Your HVAC Unit?:
Freezing: When the air pressure inside the condenser drops, ice starts to form on the coils. Furthermore, the freezing starts from the internal unit and then gradually travels outdoors along the coil lines. Although there are a few more reasons for freezing, changing or cleaning air filters is a great place to start the diagnosis.
Overheating: As the HVAC unit has to input more work to maintain the same amount of cooling, this forces the unit into overdrive. Hence, the tremendous amount of strain may result in overheating and excess energy consumption.
General Wear And Tear: Overheating coupled with dirt and dust can cause your system’s parts to wear down faster. Inevitably, dirty air filters can shorten the lifespan of your HVAC. Consequently , the machinery failure due to dirt accumulation means costly repairs.
Conclusion:
You probably don’t want to spend your hard-earned money on costly repairs, right? If so, it’s imperative to keep an eye on the quality of your air filters, as dirty air filters can lead to a variety of problems, such as:
- Low Cooling.
- Overheating of the HVAC unit.
- Freezing.
Moreover, your air filters’ quality will also affect your comfort and health due to the filter’s inability to keep allergens at bay. Thus, whenever you experience the signs discussed above, try to clean it or replace the filter. Additionally, you don’t need to worry about dirty air filters anymore as the skilled crew at Crump A/C and Heating has you covered. Call us at 281-533-9200 for your HVAC needs.