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

One of the most basic issues that we encounter at Komfort Air Service Experts in Charlotte is dusty air filters. They can seem like a very insignificant piece of the whole home comfort puzzle, but the role they play in helping us create comfort is a lot greater than most homeowners notice. Regardless if it is cooling season or heating season, having a clogged air filter can cause a variety of concerns for your heating and AC system.

So what exactly happens when you neglect to swap out your air filter? Here are a just a few of the side effects you may encounter:

• Decreased airflow. This is easily the biggest issue you’ll recognize when your home’s air filter is badly clogged. The longer the air filter goes without being changed, the more dirt, dust and other particles build up. Of course, this inhibits air from passing through the filter as it should, meaning your system is working quite a bit harder to leave 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 chance of having the cooling coil freeze inside of the system, because it’s operating overtime to leave you with cool air.
• Total loss of cooling or heating. This is also a threat if your air filter goes unchanged 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 could overheat or break down from the added work, possibly causing damage to your system.

In addition to these, you can also expect:

• A shortened equipment lifecycle
• Decreased energy efficiency
• Decreased air quality
• More dust and debris
• Lack of comfort