When a reduction in air flow occurs in your filtration system, it makes the air conditioning system actually work harder than it should have to, making the unit less energy efficient than it could be. It has to work harder because it has to pull more air through smaller openings to push through the system and into the rest of your home. This makes it harder for the system to keep your home cool.

Picture it like this; say your air filter is a marathon runner getting ready to start a big 26 mile marathon. When it first starts the race, it sets out on a nice even pace, very efficient, very fluid in form, working at the top of its game (this is when the air filter is first installed in your cooling system). Somewhere along the route it begins to break a sweat and starts to feel the burning in its legs around mile 5 (this is a few weeks into the filtration process and it’s started collecting all these disgusting little particles in its media making your cooling system work a little bit harder). Around mile 15 its arms begin to get tired from working trying to keep form and push it along a little further in the race (this would be around a month and that air flow is becoming even more constricted due to the amount of debris still piling up on its surface). Mile 20 becomes the breaking point. Do you stay the course and finish the race as its only six more miles and you’ve already ran 20, would be pointless to quit now. Your air filters saying the same thing. That little 1-inch filter has exhausted almost all air flow opportunities within it but it’s still working and the filtration is actually getting even better as there’s not a lot of places for the new stuff to flow through. But it’s definitely getting a lot less efficient and making that system use more resources and work harder to keep that cool air pushing through the system. You finally cross over the finish line and 26 miles of pure unadulterated exhaustion is over. Month 3 rolls around and your filter has finally thrown in the towel and your AC is on the brink of crying from all the work that “good” air filter has been making it do over the past 3 months.

The longer a filter sits in a system, the better filtration it will have, but the less air flow and reduced energy efficiency it will provide.

Now think of it in these terms, that’s only a 1-inch pleated air filter that’s manufacturer rated for 3 months (most need to be changed sooner but are not because it says every 3 months). What if you could increase your air flow by 40% and increase the life of the filter by 4 times up to 12 months. That air conditioning system would work less, be more energy efficient and receive much more air flow.

Related posts:

1. Changing A 1-inch Pleated HVAC Air Filter
2. HVAC filter maintenance tips
3. How much does poor indoor air quality actually affect your health?

And if it’s a residential or commercial, typically more prevalent in the commercial environment, if it has had some form of acoustic lining or acoustical duct liner installed, you could really be in a world of hurt. These do nothing more than try to drown out the background noise coming from an HVAC system. Some of these will also add an extra layer of thermal insulation to your ductwork.

This is why you should be taking the appropriate measures to change out your air conditioner filters regularly and frequently. As an added little tidbit, if your filter ever gets wet due to the condensation gathering or falling on it from the ductwork, it should be changed immediately. This could lead to growth starting to actually occur on the filter as well and particles being distributed through your ductwork.

Cheap Air Filter

You should find every way available to make the job as easy as possible to change your air conditioning filter. One helpful little tip to guide you along the way is get some labels and permanent markers or sharpie’s. When you change out the filter, write on the label the type, size and date you changed the filter. Then stick this in a visible area on the return air grill so you can see it and as you pass by you’ll be able to visibly see the last time you changed the filter. And if you change filters, note the pressure drop to your ac system. Some people actually write this info on the filter but that tends to be a little useless as you won’t be able to see it.

Changing an air conditioner filter is a thankless job and nobody really wants to do it.

Add to that the location of your return air grill. If your return air grill is located in a not so desirable spot that tends to be a little hard to access, you can bet that you will be less likely to do the proper maintenance on it and will more than likely suffer from poorer air quality in your home and air ducts. Also, if the grill actually bolts to the wall or ceiling instead of using a quick-release type system that’s hinged, you’re likely to fall into the same category.

Above all, when changing an air conditioner filter, make sure you get the right size. Shop around and check out all the different performance ratings and specifications to see that you won’t suffer an issue of pressure drop throughout your system by installing an inadequate air filtration filter. You will be surprised at what you find but keep in mind that greater resistance will mean less air flow that could negatively impact not only your energy efficiency and monetary savings but the actual unit itself.

One great product we have found is the SmartFilter by ConversionAire. This filter takes all of these things into consideration. In fact it was designed by someone in the air filtration business in a hospital bed where he had nothing better to do than think of all the things wrong with the filtration industry today and put that thought into creating one of the best HVAC filters on the market.

Related posts:

1. Changing A 1-inch Pleated HVAC Air Filter
2. HVAC Filters Air Flow Efficiency