One of the things you turn on almost every day yet seldom bother to check is your Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning (HVAC) system. There’s at least one or several of them in your office or worksite, and one at your home, too.
They’re probably the first thing you turn on, perhaps second only to the light switch. Unless you’re an engineer or technician, it’s highly unlikely it ever crossed your mind how air is blown out of those humming boxes with grilles.
HVAC systems keep you cool and fresh when it’s sweltering hot in the summer and warm and cozy during the snowfalls of winter. What you probably don’t know, though, is that there’s something inside them, which can help you extend life of HVAC unit. One of those simple appearing things that can affect HVAC performance is the air filter.
Filtering Inside Out
There are a lot of important reasons to have well-maintained and clean HVAC filters. Overall, HVAC filters should be kelp clean because they filter and clean indoor air, which you and your family inhale at home. They also help keep your rooms and offices comfortable by regulating the humidity level.
1. Clean Air Indoor
The first important reason to have a clean HVAC filter is that they perform a crucial function in improving and maintaining good and clean air quality indoors. The basic function of air filters is to trap and contain all sorts of impurities, particulates, and contaminants in the air. These include pollen, fibers and lint, hair and animal fur, dust and dirt, metal, plaster or wood particles, mold and mold spores, and even bacteria and microorganisms.
The air filter is made up of different materials depending on what you have in your HVAC system. Some are made of spun fiberglass material. Others are made of pleated paper or cloth.
If you haven’t opened your HVAC system for quite some time, then it might already be dirty or even contaminated. When your air filter is already dirty or contaminated, and you haven’t called clean-up help or brought new ones to be installed, then this can only mean that the air that your ventilation or aircon system is blowing into and around your home is dirty and full of pollutants and contaminants. They can be blowing bacteria, germs, and perhaps even viruses.
2. Blowers and Cooler Performance
What many people don’t know or are not aware of is that all of the air that is used by your HVAC system to heat or cool your home ends up passing through the air filter. You’ve seen those hose-like ductworks that go into those little rectangular boxes. Some of them were even inserted into holes bored through your concrete walls. What you don’t see is that they blow air through the filter.
When the air filters are dirty, clogged, or even blocked, this would require the air-handling fans and blowers to work harder so that they can blow more air and increase circulation. What happens is that the motor has to work harder to blow more air because of the air and excessive wear and tear of your blower components.
Dirty and clogged air filters can also be a cause of malfunctions in your HVAC system. In some instances, when the dirt and pollens have piled up so many elements in your air filter, and the air filtration is excessively clogged, your heating and cooling equipment and components can be potentially damaged.
3. Higher Energy Consumption
When your heating and cooling components and equipment are forced to work harder to compensate for the blockage posed by dirty and clogged air filters, this would mean that they require more power to blow harder. You may have noticed that your HVAC unit hums a little harder or is noisier sometimes, but it’s highly unlikely for you to have noticed that they were also taking in more electrical power to perform at that level.
When you HVAC unit is forced to consume more electrical power, this results in higher energy consumption. Higher energy usage will needlessly drive up your electricity consumption and spike your monthly energy bills.
You may have already noticed a spike in your electricity consumption. You checked your usage of the other appliances and tried to remember whether you used any of them more excessively the previous month.
When there’s a noticeable and significant spike in your monthly bill, and it’s been there for quite a number of months already, then maybe it’s time to open your HVAC unit and take a look at its air filter. You’re likely to find it dark and dirty.
Clean Filters Extend Lifespan
This article talked about three important reasons why you should keep your air filters clean. Aside from these, one of the most indirect but important benefits you get from keeping your air filters clean is that they have the effect of reducing stress on the HVAC system.
Clean air filters minimize wear and tear of components, reduce the need for and frequency of repairs, and they extend the unit’s lifespan. Thanks to filterking.com for consulting on this post.
