Ac repair and your air filter- different ac problems due to dirty air filter and efficiency. Also different types of filters
When it comes to AC Filters, it’s a topic of heavy debate! Some people say you do not need to change your filter every month, while some people choose to wait three months at a time. While we are not here to tell you what you should do, we want to simply educate you on the issues that can come from a dirty air conditioning filter. A faulty ac filter can be detrimental to your health, not only for you but anyone involved in your daily activities, at home or in the office. A soiled ac filter can also cause equipment failure in many ways, which can be a costly AC repair for your household or workplace. Let’s jump into it!
Unclean Air
Let’s talk about the most obvious sign of an unclean air condition filter, air quality. When air passes through an air filter, it traps small particles which would normally pass between your air conditioning system and recycle throughout your rooms or offices. No matter how clean you keep a space, it is very difficult to prevent dust and dirt from accumulating in a contained area. As air flows, these particles become contaminated with a range of bacteria or pathogens. If you have pets, animal fur can also become a contributor to the dirt build up on an air filter, and air filters do a great job at stopping dirt before it has a chance to cycle through your air conditioning system.
Under Performing
You may ask, why change an air filter if it is trapping dirt? The reason is that your air conditioner is expecting to take in air. The system is designed to perform at rate assisted with the airflow it was designed to handle. A blocked air filter will prevent air from being pulled into your air conditioning system and cause your unit to under perform to achieve what a clean system can produce.
Dirty filters can add a lot of stress to a standard air conditioner. This can lead to an under performing unit which can cause parts of your equipment to overheat. With overheating, it can lead to more than normal rates of maintenance, which can become costly at the most inconvenient times. Often these signs are not visible, and sudden equipment failure can occur in your home, office or workspace and replacement parts or new equipment can take a long time to become available, even more so in older equipment make, models, and brands.
Increased Energy Usage
When equipment is failing to perform at its peak capacity it begins to pull extra power to run at higher rates. This is not only going to cause your system to overheat, but energy costs can increase, costing you extra money on your energy bill. Changing your ac filters can save you hundreds in energy costs because your system can pull in the right amount of air flow and not strain to do so. Changing your air filter can save yourself multiple visits from an air conditioning technician at your home or office.
Uncomfortable temperatures
When an ac system strains to perform correctly, it takes longer for your room or office to reach your desired temperature. In some cases, the room will never reach a level that makes you comfortable, causing your system to run continuously. As mentioned before, this can lead your system to overheat, or worse cause the equipment to fail entirely. In the hottest summer days, your equipment is already doing so much to keep the air at a comfortable level. A fresh air filter can prevent your equipment from underperforming when you need it most.
Reduced Air Flow
The most dirty of air filters can cause new equipment to not function. Air conditioning systems need to be able to pull in air and it needs a solid stream of airflow to perform correctly. Think about what you see in a day of time. Dirt and dust collect anywhere no matter how clean a home or office is and air filters are the starting line for air circulation. Some air filters are located near the floor in your home or office and systems can pull this air in first as it is often the coolest in the room. This means all of the dirt and dust, or even animal fur can accumulate or build up quickly.
High Energy Bills
With increased energy usage comes higher energy bills. Reduced airflow means your equipment will struggle to perform as expected, and cause it to over compensate to pull in the air it needs. This leads to overheating and stress on the equipment and will require more power to make up the extra work.
Frozen AC
Dirty ac filters are known to reduce the warm air from reaching your ac system. In turn making your air conditioning system get colder and colder. In hot summer days, this can cause the ac to run at temperatures below operating minimums. When the air conditioner operates like this, the cold air builds up along the ac coils and causes them to freeze. This freeze can prevent the system from removing heat and eventually break the system in the process.
