Home Maintenance: 4 Reasons to Regularly Replace Your AC Filter

The filter for your HVAC unit is one of the most important components of the machine, but often the most overlooked. Filters keep your HVAC system running as efficiently as possible with minimal maintenance intervention. New filters can also help improve the air quality in your home. Discover the top four reasons to change your AC filter — and how it can affect your home if you don’t.

Improve Efficiency

While the common perception is that air filters are just for the clarity of your home’s air, the filters also play a huge role in the efficiency of your HVAC system. Filters keep the dirt and bacteria that clog your filter from reaching the rest of your system.

When your filter gets dirty, it can block air flow, which increases your energy bills. The system has to consume more electricity or fuel to maintain the temperature at which you keep your thermostat.

Reduce Maintenance

If the filter in your HVAC unit is dirty, it can make the system work much harder to heat or cool the air. That extra burden on the system can end up wearing down components faster than usual, leading to the need for maintenance to create a well-functioning HVAC unit. 

You might also have to replace your HVAC system sooner if you don’t change your air filter. At some point, the cost of repairs and maintenance will outweigh the value of the system. If you want your air conditioner and furnace to last as long as possible, replace your AC filter regularly.

Improve Air Quality

Image via Flickr by Susanne Nilsson

When you have a dirty air filter, your HVAC unit is forcing the air through the debris, which means that all the pollutants and allergens caught on the filter are re-entering the air supply of your home. If you replace the air filter for your unit regularly, this isn’t something you’d have to worry about, but irregular replacements can lead to higher levels of allergens entering your home. 

If you regularly replace your filter, the air quality of your home will increase markedly, since the air isn’t being forced through a dirty filter anymore. This can help the overall health of your family, especially during allergen-heavy seasons. 

Save Money

If your system isn’t working as hard or breaking down due to overuse, you won’t spend nearly as much money on maintenance. Replacing the filter regularly can not only help you cut down on maintenance costs, but also on electricity bills. Your system will consume less energy, so you’ll benefit each month when your utility statement arrives.

Plus, if you reduce your exposure to allergens in your home, you won’t have to spend as much money on medication. You’ll breathe easier without assistance from allergy medications, which means greater health and a bigger bank account.

The filter on your HVAC unit is an important component that often gets overlooked, but it can end up making all the difference in the efficiency and longevity of your unit, as well as affect the state of your health and budget.