Dirty Air Filters: The Price You Pay

There’s a reason why we instruct our customers to regularly change their home air filters. It’s one of the easiest home maintenance checklist items to forget—because its impact often goes unseen—yet its neglect can lead to serious trouble.

Here’s how:

System Functionality

Your HVAC systems rely on air vents to circulate air. The return vent (the one with the filter that probably needs changing), pulls air into your ventilation system so that your air condition can do what it does best—condition your air—then return clean, cool air through the smaller vents throughout your home.

This is a great article outlining the process.

When the air filter is dirty, airflow through the return vent is reduced. This forces your blower fan to work harder, which leads to higher energy consumption (ahem, higher bills) and a higher likelihood that your blower fan’s motor will start to work inconsistently then eventually burn out.

Air Quality

Do you have a water filtering pitcher? The longer you go past the “change filter” light, the more and more unfiltered water you’re allowing yourself to drink.

The same goes for air filters. When the return vent is filled with dust collected over a year’s time, you’re forcing it to send dusty, bacteria-filled air back through the ventilation systems then back into your house through the smaller vents.

And do you know what that means?

It means that all your efforts to dust your furniture are futile, because those ceiling vents are just going to be blowing more dust into your home and onto every surface.

Higher Bills

We mentioned this before, but it’s worth repeating. This is the absolute least expensive way to ensure that your system is running properly and maintaining peak efficiency.

Sometimes, clients are reminded that they need to replace their filters JUST because they saw that their energy bills are higher.

Yes—it has that much of an effect.

Changed your filter and still seeing a rise in your energy bills? Call our team at BNG Heating & Cooling to schedule an in-home assessment today.