There are plenty of important parts within your air conditioner in Cincinnati, OH and each of them plays a vital role. This includes your air filter. If you didn’t know that your air filter played a crucial role in your AC system’s operation before now, then we are glad to give you some information that you need to know.
Read on to discover more about this highly important but often ignored part of your AC. After all, working with your air filter is the one thing that we actually encourage homeowners to do.
The Air Filter Protects Your HVAC System
Many people mistake the role of their air filter for that of an air filtration system. We understand the mix-up, but we do want to clarify the difference between the two.
An air filtration system sits within the ducts that feed air into your home, cleaning your home’s air quality. An HVAC air filter sits within your return air duct and prevents dust and debris from entering your HVAC system. While your system’s air filter doesn’t hurt your indoor air quality, its main goal is to protect your HVAC system rather than help clean the air in your house.
The Problem With an Overly Dirty Air Filter
Your air filter is supposed to catch dust, but it can get overwhelmed. A good way to understand this is to think about what happens when your garbage disposal gets too much food debris to handle at once. It clogs things up!
Similarly, after a while, your filter can become clogged with too much airborne debris, leading to less and less air entering your air conditioner. This will undermine your home comfort, strain your system, and increase your energy bills. Yes, just letting this one part of your system be neglected can have that big of an impact!
When to Change Your Air Filter
You want to make sure that your filter is changed on a regular basis or changed whenever it just gets really dirty. But is there a rule of thumb to help you remember when it is best to change this part of your HVAC system?
Yes, there is.
We advise checking and changing your air filter every one to three months. If you are using your AC system nonstop throughout the summer, checking your filter each month is a good idea. Even if you don’t have to change it each month, you’ll be aware enough to realize when the filter is getting too dirty so you can change it before it starts to hurt the operation of your system.
If you are one of the many people with a reusable air filter, don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about you. The rule of thumb we just mentioned applies to you too! The only difference is that, instead of changing your air filter every one to three months, you will be cleaning it off.
An air filter change isn’t the only task that your AC needs to keep it running right. For everything else, make sure to turn to a team of professionals like ours.
Schedule an appointment with JM Mechanical Heating & Cooling to get the expert services that will keep your air conditioner in optimal condition. We’ve served homes throughout Cincinnati since 2010.