Are Air Filters Really Needed In An Air Conditioning Unit?
Is an air filter really that important? Does it need to be changed frequently? What could happen if it is not changed regularly? The answer is yes, and it could create many different problems causing damage to the A/C unit and to the interior of your home.
An air conditioner needs the correct air flow across the evaporator (indoor coil) and the condenser (outside coil) to operate properly.
This article will talk about the air filter that protects the evaporator coil.
If the air flow is restricted the efficiency of the air conditioning unit as a whole will be reduced causing increased electric bills for each and every month the restriction exists.
The unit will run longer and labor more than it was designed to, causing a decreased life of the unit's components.
Each individual part could be affected by this simple oversight of the homeowner.
If the restriction becomes too bad then the refrigerant freezes up and will start to form a layer of ice in the evaporator coil.
The longer it runs the thicker the ice becomes until no air can flow through the coil at all.
If the unit runs even longer the ice can cover the compressor in the condenser.
Eventually this will cause the compressor to fail from this condition and cause many more problems to the entire system.
If the system is turned off then the ice will start to melt on the inside unit and this will cause water to start to leak on the inside of your heating system.
The system may continue to turn on and off (short cycle) until either complete failure of the unit, or you contact an HVAC contractor to fix this problem.
What can you do to avoid this situation? You need to make sure that your filter is changed regularly.
This is a relatively easy thing to do and most contractors will show you how to changed them.
The homeowner should set-up a regular time to do this.
Once a month is the recommended frequency.
Simply on the first payday of each month have a person be responsible for this simple task.
Even with a new filter each month some dirt will get pass the filter and cause another problem, a dirty blower compartment.
A seasonal check-up by your HVAC contractor can not only check each part in your units, but also clean each unit.
If you do not have the blower compartment cleaned dirt can build up on the blower wheel fins.
A dirty blower fan wheels and a dirty furnace filter will definitely cause your system to freeze up and then drip water.
Causing damage to the interior of your home.
Yes a clean air filter is really that important to the life of your A/C unit.
An air conditioner needs the correct air flow across the evaporator (indoor coil) and the condenser (outside coil) to operate properly.
This article will talk about the air filter that protects the evaporator coil.
If the air flow is restricted the efficiency of the air conditioning unit as a whole will be reduced causing increased electric bills for each and every month the restriction exists.
The unit will run longer and labor more than it was designed to, causing a decreased life of the unit's components.
Each individual part could be affected by this simple oversight of the homeowner.
If the restriction becomes too bad then the refrigerant freezes up and will start to form a layer of ice in the evaporator coil.
The longer it runs the thicker the ice becomes until no air can flow through the coil at all.
If the unit runs even longer the ice can cover the compressor in the condenser.
Eventually this will cause the compressor to fail from this condition and cause many more problems to the entire system.
If the system is turned off then the ice will start to melt on the inside unit and this will cause water to start to leak on the inside of your heating system.
The system may continue to turn on and off (short cycle) until either complete failure of the unit, or you contact an HVAC contractor to fix this problem.
What can you do to avoid this situation? You need to make sure that your filter is changed regularly.
This is a relatively easy thing to do and most contractors will show you how to changed them.
The homeowner should set-up a regular time to do this.
Once a month is the recommended frequency.
Simply on the first payday of each month have a person be responsible for this simple task.
Even with a new filter each month some dirt will get pass the filter and cause another problem, a dirty blower compartment.
A seasonal check-up by your HVAC contractor can not only check each part in your units, but also clean each unit.
If you do not have the blower compartment cleaned dirt can build up on the blower wheel fins.
A dirty blower fan wheels and a dirty furnace filter will definitely cause your system to freeze up and then drip water.
Causing damage to the interior of your home.
Yes a clean air filter is really that important to the life of your A/C unit.
