There are two steps you can take that make a big impact on the efficiency and lifespan of your furnace system: preventive maintenance and regularly changing air filters. Maintenance should be performed by an HVAC contractor before the winter season sets in, but air filter changes should be performed by the homeowner each month. Once you know how important it is to change your air filters regularly, it should be easy to remember to do so.
The benefits include:
- Avoiding breakdowns. It might be hard to believe, but a dirty filter, one that’s full of dirt buildup, is one of the main causes of furnace failure. Why? A filter is designed to allow a certain amount of air to flow through it and into the furnace. When it’s full, airflow is restricted. If this continues, the furnace blower has to work harder, which can lead to the motor failing.
- Saving energy. When a dirty filter causes the air handler and motor to work harder, they consume more energy. By using a clean filter each month, you create ideal conditions for energy efficiency and fuel consumption.
- Saving money. With a clean filter, you get peak efficiency – and savings. When the furnace is allowed to operate as the designers intended, the small action of changing a filter translates into money saved.
- Cleaner indoor air. Filters are designed to be able to trap a certain amount of particles. Once a filter is full, it can’t trap any additional particles, so if you leave a filter in the furnace system for months at a time, it will eventually stop capturing particles. Those excess particles go right into your home’s indoor air. A high level of particles in the home’s air can trigger allergies and asthma.
- Decrease pollution. Consider changing your furnace filter as your contribution to a cleaner environment, as decreased energy consumption means a decreased carbon footprint.
Convinced of the benefits of regularly changing air filters? To take advantage of them, change your furnace filter once a month throughout winter. Contact Arpi’s Industriesfor help selecting a filter or to schedule maintenance.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about air filters and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Arpi’s services Calgary, Alberta. Visit our website to see our special offers to get started today!
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