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Effects of a Clogged AC Filter

Clogged HVAC filters can cause significant damage to your HVAC system resulting in you having to call a specialist and possibly some costly repairs. An AC, heat pump, gas furnace, electric furnace, or even an oil furnace needs the proper amount air flow across the coil or heat exchanger to operate properly. When the filter clogs the air flow is minimized the blower works harder and harder to pull the proper amount of air across the coil or heat exchanger. It’s common for people to forget to change their air filters. Dr. Rescue can provide you with a years supply of filters that can be delivered directly to your home at a discounted price. Why go to the store when the store can come to you? Call our office if you are interested in the discounted filters being delivered directly to your home. Our company can even come install them for you taking all of the hassle away from you. Let’s look at some reason regular filter change is important:

Serious Harmful HVAC Issues Caused by a Dirty Clogged Air Filter

  1. Cause your air conditioner to stop cooling
  2. Cause your air conditioner to freeze over and when it thaws the water from the melting ice can overwhelm your condensate drain and cause water damage to ceilings
  3. Cause a serious mechanical issues with your compressor in your air conditioner or heat pump resulting in them having to be replaced
  4. Cause your furnace and/or heat to stop heating

Effects of a Clogged HVAC Air Filter

  • As the system airflow is reduced from a restricted and clogged filter your air conditioner or heat pump (in cooling mode) evaporator coil will begin freezing up resulting in less and less air flow from the supply vents. The refrigerant is still flowing through the coils but with no air-flow, there is no heat absorbed into the coils and refrigerant. The refrigerant falls below the freezing point and any moisture in the air around the coil begins freezing. It effectively turns the air conditioner or heat pump evaporator coil into a freezer. If the air filter is changed then you will still have problems until the evaporator coil is defrosted. With an air-conditioner, you turn it off for several hours to allow it to thaw. With a heat pump, you can simply turn it to heat mode and it will automatically defrost the evaporator coil. This problem can cause serious water damage to your home or business.
  • Furnaces with clogged air filters will stop heating. As the air flow is restricted the heat in the heat exchanger gets higher and higher. Designed into every furnace are limit switches that will open when the temperature exceeds a designed temperature. When the high limits open the burners turn off and the heat stops. Many times these are automatic reset switches and will automatically reset when the temperature of the heat exchanger cools but if the clogged air filter is not corrected then the problem will recur and the furnace will not provide the proper amount of heat. Sometimes the limit switch will get stuck in the open position resulting in a service call from a contractor to replace the part.

Dirty filters are not something that should be forgotten or neglected. If you order your filters through our company we will even send you reminders to change them yourselves or to schedule with us to come change them for you. Lack of filter maintenance will result in costly repairs that no one wants. Call us today to set up your order for direct delivery filters and keep your system working at peak performance!

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