What does it mean to be energy efficient? Why would anyone want to save energy with their HVAC equipment? The simple answer is money. If you are on it with proper care, your HVAC equipment will last longer, perform better and you will spend less money overtime. Lots of people hunt around for the best energy saving tips. Honestly, what I found that saves a person the most money is good maintenance on their existing equipment.
No matter what kind of HVAC system you have, it is a good idea to give it a little love and care from time to time. Have you ever checked under the bed after years of not cleaning it? How about when you finally decide to clean the dryer lint trap? No matter where you look dust gathers and needs to be removed. Go back to that dryer lint trap idea. A furnace filter performs a similar function. The filter stops dust from getting inside the HVAC equipment and ruining production. Every month it is required by the homeowner to clean out their filter. What happens when you forget? Leaving a dusty filter in is no good. The dust then has a direct path right to the furnace. Once the furnace is dirty, nothing good happens.
At best a dirty furnace will operate slower and perform longer hours to achieve the thermostat setting. Your energy bills will be higher and the home temperature won’t be any better. That is the best case scenario. The dirty filter and the higher workloads on the furnace could cause it to overheat. The furnace literally could overheat and catch on fire if it is too dirty. Sometimes the furnace overheats and major parts breakdown like the heat exchanger. A cracked heat exchanger releases carbon monoxide into the home. This odorless, tasteless and colorless gas is hard to detect and will poison a homeowner after prolonged periods. Hospitalization and even death have occurred due to it. A totally busted heat exchanger costs almost as much as a new furnace to replace. To stop all these things from happening, simply get a new furnace filter each month. Your bills are lower and the furnace is happier.