Honey, Did You Remember to Change the Air Conditioner Filter?

In most homes, the typical response to this simple question is usually, ‘No, not yet. Can’t you see I’m busy? I’ll get around to it later.’

The Not-So-Handyman

The problem is that later rarely comes and the not-so-handyman’s procrastination leads to expensive monthly energy bills.

The simple task of remembering to change your air conditioner filter is a common problem in many households. Because it’s something that only needs to be performed every few months it’s easy to forget.

Out of sight, out of mind is an accurate way to describe it. But every time the air conditioner kicks on, you’re home air filter is trapping more dust and dirt and getting closer to becoming ineffective and need of replacement.

All air conditioner filters are engineered to capture a certain amount of airborne contaminants that float around your home. Dust, smoke, pet hair, pollen and even bacteria are trapped by a high quality air filter. However, once they reach a specific load level, your filter will no longer allow air to pass through the material efficiently. This creates a buildup of pressure resistance in the blower motor of the system and causes your air conditioner to work harder to do its job.

When the system works harder, you consume more energy and will see your electric bill spike! You could be paying more than 20% more for cooling your home and don’t even know it. All of this is because of a having a not-so-handyman in your home.

It pays to nag that handyman to check the filter once a month to see if it needs changing. Your family budget will be the winner in the end.

The Easiest Way to Go Green…Change Your Home Air Filters

Have you committed to being more environmentally responsible? Are you looking for a simple solution to reduce your carbon footprint upon the Earth?  Would you like an easy way to turn your home green that doesn’t cost a lot of money?

You can achieve all three of these worthwhile goals by performing a common household chore most people forget – regularly replace your home’s air conditioner filter!

Going “green” doesn’t require you to give up the modern comforts of daily life. You only need to be aware of the areas where you can make a significant impact. A good place to start is your air conditioner filter. Your home cooling system is an important part of your home during the hot summer months. If you live in more arid parts of the world you probably utilize your air conditioning for a majority of the day. Because it runs so frequently, it’s a great place to save energy.

Besides adjusting your thermostat, maintaining a clean and effective air conditioner filter can reduce your energy consumption, thereby lowering your homes CO² emissions. When you have  dirty, overloaded home air filters your system must work harder to cool your living space.

A congested, clogged air conditioner filter restricts the air flow through the system and substantially reduces its efficiency. A 20-30% efficiency reduction can cost you thousands of dollars over the course of your system’s lifetime and a huge increase to your carbon footprint.

Just by simply changing your home air filters on a regular schedule you can make a difference and be green.

Why do I need to change My Air Conditioner Filters

Essentially your air conditioner filter is a collector of dust, dirt, grime and other nasty microscopic things that float around your home. When your comfort system is turned on, it collects these particles to protect your system and clean your home’s air. Like the lint trap in your dryer, it accumulates a thick layer of these air borne particles.

Once it has trapped a certain amount, it becomes full and ineffective and gradually restricts the air flow moving through your system. This requires your system to work harder to keep you cool — wasting precious energy and increasing your bills.

Dirty, clogged home air filters also become less effective at capturing the air borne germs and pollutants that can irritate your family’s breathing. Irritated sinuses, sneezing, allergies and even asthma are triggered. Your family inhales what your filter can’t handle any longer.

An old and forgotten filter can eventually accumulate so much dirt and grime that it can totally choke off the air flow to the system. In the worst case, the filter will be sucked into the blower motor and cause thousands of dollars in damage to your system.

The Air Conditioner Filters Made Easy never lets you forget to change your filter. Visit www.air-conditioner-filters-made-easy.com to learn more and start saving money.

How Air Conditioning Filters Affect Your Family’s Health

The quality and effectiveness of the air conditioning filters you install and your family’s health are indelibly connected. Do you really know what your family is breathing?

It’s a good question to ask yourself.

We all face a variety of risks to health as we go about our day-to-day lives. Driving in cars, flying in planes, engaging in recreational activities, and being exposed to environmental pollutants all pose varying degrees of risk. Some risks are simply unavoidable. The good news is the quality of the air in your home is one risk that you can do something about and it can be as simple as changing your air conditioning filters.

When it comes to air pollution, there’s no place like home. Today, most homes are well insulated and air tight to keep the weather outside, but they also keep airborne contaminants inside. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, we spend as much as 90 percent of our time indoors where it can be polluted two to five times higher—and occasionally more than 100 times higher—than outdoor levels.

As a result, the EPA has identified indoor air pollution as one of the top five urgent environmental risks to public health. This makes the performance of your air conditioning filters more crucial than ever.

A Typical Dust Mite

The dust and dirt floating in the air and collecting on end tables and bookshelves is only a fraction of what’s actually swimming around in the air: an invisible mix of dust mites, pollen, pet dander, mold, and smoke that can be annoying to breathe and hazardous to your health.

When your air conditioning filters are clogged because they haven’t been changed, the resulting poor indoor air quality can cause or contribute to the development of chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

It can cause headaches, dry eyes, nasal congestion, nausea and fatigue. At greater risk are people who already have respiratory diseases like the elderly and young children.

Having a well functioning air conditioning filter is the first line of defense against these possible problems. A high quality filter can capture the minute particles that float around your home in the air your family breathes. Simple irritants like sneezing, a runny nose or watery eyes can be alleviated by making sure that your filter is changed regularly.

What’s The Cost Of Forgetting To Change Air Conditioner Filters?

The cost of your home’s energy comes down to efficiency. The more efficient your home comfort system operates the lower your monthly energy bills. Most systems are designed to operate at a very high efficiency rate to maximize the amount of fuel or power used. When you forget to change your air conditioner filters, you’re reducing your system ability to run efficiently and forcing it to work harder.

The major consequence of forgetting to change your air conditioning filter on a regular schedule is restricted air flow through your system which significantly reduces its efficiency. Some manufactures estimate that air clogged filter will reduce efficiency by 30%. That could add up to hundreds of dollars a year!

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to calculate that if your system is working at a 30% efficiency deficit, it will take more energy to cool the same area. The result is that you’re burning more money than you need to just because of a dirty filter.

To is difficult to quantify the true cost of a dirty air filter because every system is different, every house is different and every family’s lifestyle is different.  The amount of dust, dirt, pollen and other particles that enter the house and need filtering are a dependent upon the environment in the home.

Common sense dictates that if your system is 30% less efficient then your cooling bills should reflect the difference. So if you are spending $200 to cool your home each month, with a clogged air filter you are paying $60 too much on your energy bill!

Of course, this is hypothetical but you get the point. Restricted air flow because of a dirty filter is a major cause of higher household energy costs. The answer can be as simple as changing your air conditioner filter every two to three months.

This simple task can save you a lot of money over the years. Now’s the time to commit and make a difference!

A Costly Myth: All Air Conditioner Filters Are The Same

‘All air conditioner filters are all the same!’ It’s surprising how many homeowners have this attitude.

The fact is this myth cost thousands of people hundreds of dollars a year in higher energy bills and causes many respiratory ailments. Inexpensive air conditioner filters are more costly in the long term in three critical areas: equipment life, indoor air quality and energy consumption.

If you currently use a spun fiberglass air conditioner filter that you can see through and costs about $2.00, you’re wasting your money. This type of filter only captures the large particles it doesn’t capture the smaller particles that can damage your system. When dirt is allowed to accumulate on the coil within your system it makes the evaporator fan work harder, causes the condenser line pressure to rise and stresses the compressor.

These three quickly add up to additional energy consumption, higher costs and a shorter equipment life span. The cost of replacing a coil can run as high as $500 and a new system can cost over $4,000! Skimping on the air conditioner filter just to save a few dollars can get very expensive.

An air conditioner filter also plays a key role in keeping the air you breathe free of irritants. Many people suffer from allergies, asthma, or other breathing problems that affect their quality of life. Many cheap pleated filters promise to clean a home’s air but fall short because they don’t trap enough of the smaller particles that cause breathing problems. To tackle this situation, a higher MERV filter is the best way to go.

MERV stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value and is used to help compare filter performance. A higher MERV rating indicates a better performing filter. The MERV rating you need for your comfort system comes down to your sensitivity to dust and other pollutants and the air quality issues you face in your home. Fiberglass filters are rated at a 1 MERV while most homes could see significant health benefits from an 8 MERV filter.

Energy consumption is another area that impacts the air conditioner filter you choose. A cheap filter loads up with dirt and dust faster than a high quality pleated filter because it has less surface area. As unwanted air-borne particles accumulate a filter will eventually pass its ability to function effectively. A cheap filter that is forgotten will restrict air flow and make the system work harder and waste more energy.

When should you change your air conditioner filter? It depends. Every house and comfort system is different. When you change your filter depends on many factors including the number of people who live there, whether you have pets or if you have a lot of dust and mold outside. The only way to know if it is time to change the filter is to check it monthly and commit to a set schedule to replace the old filter.

What’s the best thing you can do for your home’s comfort system? Use a high quality filter and change it on a schedule that fits your lifestyle.  Services like the one provided by Air-Conditioner-Filters-Made-Easy.com can help any home extend equipment life, improve air quality and save on energy. They’ll ship you a quality air filter on a set schedule. It will arrive at your door on a predetermined date that you select. All you need to do is replace the old filter with the new one. It’s as easy as that.

Air conditioner filters have a major impact on your home environment. Understanding this small fact can save you money and improve your health.

When Buying Air Conditioner Filters By the Case is Not a Good Deal

Purchasing air conditioner filters by the case seems like a very logical idea. There’s nothing wrong with saving a few dollars on something you’re going to eventually need to replace anyway. The problem is will you actually replace it when it’s time?

The money you save can quickly disappear because you forgot to change a filter when it was time. A dirty, clogged filter can increase energy consumption by over 20% in a few weeks. Typically, the couple of bucks that was saved is eaten up by the next gas or electric bill that arrives in the mail.

Having a case of filters sitting in your home doesn’t do you any good if the box is collecting more dust than the filter!

Every filter, no matter the quality, has a tipping point of effectiveness. This is when it no longer allows air to flow without restriction. Restricted air flow causes the blower motor, coil and compressor work harder to perform efficiently. This results in consuming more energy to perform at an acceptable level.

Replacing your filter in a timely manner with a high quality filter is the best way to insure that this does not occur. If you’re a disciplined do-it-your-selfer and change your filter on a set schedule, buying them by the case makes sense. But if you have a tendency to forget you may want to adopt a different maintenance strategy.

A smarter way to buy filters is to use a service like the one provided by Air-Conditioner-Filters-Made-Easy.com. They’ll ship you a quality air filter on a set schedule you choose. Your filter will arrive at your door on a predetermined date.  All you need to do is replace the old filter with the new one. It’s as easy as that.

Air conditioner filters have a major impact on your home budget. Making the right choice can save you more money over a long period of time.

Welcome to Phil’s blog!

Welcome to the Air Conditioner Filters Made Easy blog! This is where you will find important information on home air filters and how they can save you money, improve your family’s health and help save the planet.

Yes, they are that critical to your daily life!

Most people conveniently forget about them and pay a heavy price with expensive cooling bills, dirty air in their home and more energy consumption.

To learn more, visit www.air-conditioner-filters-made-easy.com. It could be the smartest thing you do today!