Furnace Filters

The filter to your furnace or heat pump is probably the only thing you as a homeowner are involved in when it comes to routine maintenance on your heating and cooling system. However, I believe it is by far the most important item that can be done to keep your system operating efficiently.

If you could equate a filter change with routine oil and filter changes on your car, maybe it will demonstrate just how important this one step is. Suppose you changed your car's oil and filter only once per year....only once every two years.......once every three years. How would that effect the motor? Not good right? Probably will reduce the life of your engine, cause it to run hot, increase friction, reduce mileage and cause other problems that will have to be repaired due to the lack of maintenance? Well that is what happens to your heating and air system when the filters are not changed. A dirty filter will:

   Cause reduced air flow which will overheat your furnace
 
   Reduce heat delivery to your home which will increase the run time, costing you more money

   Cause unfiltered air to bypass the filter thereby coating your blower wheel and motor with dust, coating the    evaporator with dust, and circulating dirty air back into your house.

The above is just a short list of what can happen. Dirty filters are the number one reason I repair furnaces. Yep, it is that important, even more important than the age of the system. So, you can change your filter often, have a scheduled maintenance plan to change it, or you can let it go, allow the system to get dirty and just plan on replacing parts and eventually replacing your system.

So in a nutshell, change your furnace or change your system. It's that simple.  :)

Take Care,

The HVAC Tech