Replacing furnace filters is important for air quality, but replacing your furnace filter does a lot more than prevent allergens, dust, and dirt from being blown around your home. Your furnace filter does so much more. For s simple device such as this, here is the breakdown of the multiple tasks a furnace filter completes.
Cleaning The Air
As mentioned above, the furnace filter catches the air that is pulled back to the furnace for redistribution to the house. The filter catches the dust and dirt particles on the fiberglass and polyester fibers that make up the filter. Some filters are electronically charged to use static electricity in order to make the particles stick to the filter. In either method, the filter is used to clean the air and enhances the overall air quality of a house.
Energy Efficiency
By keeping the air clean, the filter also keeps the ductwork clean. Because air is forced through the ductwork, static electricity can build up if there is enough resistance. This causes any dust in the supply ductwork to stick to the ductwork and create more resistance, forcing the furnace to work harder and costing more money to run. A furnace filter keeps this dust at bay and keeps the efficiency of the ductwork nominal across the board.
Equipment Health
Dust and dirt can build up over time on electrical equipment, but really can really do damage in the heat exchanger of the furnace, collecting moisture and allowing moisture to collect on dust particles before being burned away in the combustion process. Excessive dust build up in the heat exchanger can also contribute to excess carbon monoxide build up. While this is normally eliminated in modern high efficiency furnaces, this can be an issue in older natural draft furnaces that rely on air from the furnace room for combustion air.
The build up of dust on equipment decreases the life span of the equipment significantly. Evaporator coils in the supply plenum of the furnace also can be affected by excess dust in a very serious manner, clogging the condensate tray and allowing water to over flow from the tray, possibly ruining the heat exchanger of the furnace.
As you can see, a furnace filter is for keeping the air clean, but it also keeps the equipment healthy and efficiency up. This is why changing or cleaning your filter every 3 months is so important. If you haven’t done this is a while, it may be time to change that filter.
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