The average home is filled with microscopic particles that float through the air. These particles – pet dander, dead skin, cooking residue, etc. – can clog an HVAC unit’s air filters over time, leading to an increase in utility costs, potential damage to equipment, and poor indoor air quality.
Experts recommend changing your home’s air filters regularly (every 1-3 months, on average) to avoid the following.
1. Spending Excess Money in Energy Costs
A dirty filter on your HVAC system can increase your monthly energy bill significantly without you benefiting from the unit’s operation. When the filter is dirty, it doesn’t allow air to flow through properly, which means less air moving through your home’s vents. As a result of the ineffective air flow, the air that does reach the rooms in your home is less effective at altering the temperature inside the home than it should be.
The end result: your HVAC system operates for longer periods more often to achieve the desired temperature and you pay more in energy costs.
2. Your HVAC System is Less Effective and More Prone to Damage
Dirty air filters trap air flow and can’t effectively trap air particles as they should. As such, these particles collect inside your home and inside your HVAC system to the point they can damage the components inside the unit.
An HVAC system has a life expectancy of about 15 years, but without regular filter changes, it won’t last that long.
3. It Takes Longer to Heat or Cool Your Home
If your HVAC system has clogged air filters, its ability to move air to all areas of your home is diminished. Rooms further away from the unit may not be as hot or as cool as other rooms closer to the unit, which means the unit has to work harder for longer to compensate.
4. Air Becomes Stagnant
Decreased air flow throughout your home causes air to become stagnant. Stagnant air leads to more dust on surfaces and potential mold/mildew growth caused by increased moisture in the air. Sometimes air can become so stagnant that it actually changes the color of furniture and walls inside the home.
5. Air Quality Diminishes
It’s a known fact that inside air quality is many times worse than outdoor air. As technology has improved over the years to increase energy conservation, which is good for the planet and our wallets, it’s made indoor air quality worse, especially when people fail to change out their home’s air filters.
Since homes and buildings are sealed so well these days, poor indoor air just recirculates throughout the home. For those sensitive to it, this can lead to allergy-type symptoms and an increase in asthma-related illnesses.
Remembering to change out your home’s air filters can have a dramatic effect on the indoor air quality, as well as your monthly energy costs and the value of your home.
