With the furnace operating nearly 24/7 this time of year, many homeowners are prone to taking their heating system for granted, especially if they scheduled preseason maintenance on the furnace before the weather turned cold in the fall. Yet, there’s one furnace maintenance task that you won’t want to skimp on this winter – change your air filter regularly.
The air filter requires more frequent checking and changing in the winter for a simple reason: The furnace is in operation more than any other time. The more air circulates through a forced-air heating system, the more airborne particulates get removed by the filter. Hence the filter gets clogged much sooner.
A clogged furnace filter can have several negative impacts on your heating system and the service you expect from it. If you don’t change your air filter frequently enough in the winter, expect the following:
Clogged Furnace Filter
When a furnace filter fills up with dust and debris, air has a harder time being pushed through the filter.
Restricted airflow in a central heating system has three main negative effects:
1. Some rooms may not get enough heated air;
2. The furnace will struggle to deliver enough conditioned air to satisfy the thermostat setting. This makes the furnace work harder, which stresses the blower motor, and may lead to more frequent breakdowns;
3. Wasted energy, as the equipment struggles harder than necessary to circulate air.
A clogged filter will result in more dust and debris falling onto sensitive furnace parts and components. This results in more friction during furnace operation, which stresses the equipment, wastes energy and reduces heating effectiveness.
A dirty air filter can impair indoor air quality, as some dirty air manages to push past the clogged filter.
For all of these reasons, it’s important to get in the habit of inspecting the air filter at least once a month during the heavy-use season, and when it looks clogged with dust and debris, change it.
For more information on why it’s so important to change your air filter during our long Calgary winters, please contact us at Arpi’s Industries.
