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

One of the most common issues that we hear about at Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning in Calgary is filthy air filters. They can seem like a very tiny piece of the whole home comfort puzzle, but the role they play in helping us control comfort is a lot greater than most homeowners recognize. Regardless if it is cooling season or heating season, having a dirty air filter can cause a host of issues for your heating and AC system.

So what exactly happens when you don’t remember to swap out your air filter? Here are a just a couple of the side effects you might encounter:

• Diminished airflow. This is easily the largest problem you’ll recognize when your home’s air filter is severely clogged. The longer the air filter goes without being changed, the more dirt, dust and other particles build up. Of course, this hinders 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 working harder as a result of a filthy air filter, you also run the danger of having the cooling coil freeze inside of the system, because it’s working overtime to leave you with cool air.
• Total loss of cooling or heating. This is also a threat if your air filter goes unattended for months and months on end. In essence, you will have worked your system so hard that something breaks or wears out and needs to be replaced or serviced.
• Short cycling. Short cycling means the heating and cooling system turns on and off excessively. When your system short cycles, it may overheat or break down from the added work, which could end up causing damage to your system.

In addition to these, you can also expect:

• A shorter equipment lifecycle
• Decreased energy efficiency
• Diminished air quality
• Increase in dust and debris
• Lack of comfort