How often do you replace your air filter? We all know it should be every thirty days right? Let’s be honest, most of us forget and let it go longer than we should. Even though I’m a HVAC guy I sometimes get too busy and put it off for longer than I should as well. As such a simple task we cannot afford to let this happen, it’s far too important to let it go.
The importance of regularly changing air filters
At Larson Air Conditioning we get many calls for air conditioning units not cooling. Obviously we do because we’re an air conditioner repair company. What I mean is many of our calls are because air filters are the source of the problem. They’re dirty! They restrict airflow and cause your unit to over work. This results in you overpaying the power company. Furthermore it can lead to other major problems including compressor damage. The air filter is literally the most important part of an air conditioning system. It doesn’t just clean the air that you breath; it prevents dirt and debris from clogging your evaporator coil.
When an evaporator coil becomes clogged the air conditioning system loses its capacity and efficiency. This is exactly what you don’t want to happen. Running your air conditioning system without air filters is a major no-no. Even for just one day while you drive to pick a new one up at the store. This is not recommended. You see evaporators are wet because they condense the moisture that exists in your home. So when dust hits the evaporator it tends to cake on especially when dog or cat hair is present. We don’t want this to happen, this is the foundation for more dirt and debris to build upon. One day the air blows from the ducts at 55 degrees then the next month it blows at 57 degrees, then 59, 62, 66 and up, until you call because it’s no longer blowing cold.
As the dust accumulates on the evaporator the air conditioner slowly becomes less and less effective. Now you have a service technician at your home trouble-shooting the problem and he finds that the compressor has failed. This can happen because if air is not able to pass across the evaporator then the refrigerant from the evaporator returns to the compressor as a liquid. When liquid refrigerant returns to the compressor it damages the compressor. Compressors are not very forgiving to liquid refrigerant. Compressors are designed as vapor pumps, the refrigerant needs to be in vapor form. The return air is what makes the refrigerant in the evaporator boil into vapor. If the evaporator is clogged this process is limited causing this type of problem.
Call the experts you can trust
We all have enough on our plates, let’s not neglect our air conditioning units and cause ourselves more to deal with. Change your air filters every thirty days. It’s the best thing a homeowner can do to maintain their air conditioners operating condition. If you have any questions or need to schedule a service, call us at (480) 428-0600.