When it comes to cooling and heating systems in both commercial and residential settings, a filter is essential for removing impurities before air is sucked into the system and exhausted back out. While an HVAC system can technically operate without a filter, it's not recommended. All heat pumps and ovens have filters, and if your home uses a different type of heating system, such as a boiler, you won't have one. An oven filter serves as a barrier to trap dust and debris from entering the return duct and reaching the fan.
This helps keep the air cleaner since allergens won't be recirculated, and it also helps keep your home colder. However, if the filter is too clogged or overloaded, the oven will have to work harder for air to pass through, resulting in higher energy costs. If you notice that your heating bills seem high and your house isn't heating as much as it should, the first thing you should check is your oven filter. Additionally, if the filter is too clogged or overloaded, you could suffer damage.
For example, when not enough air is blown over the heat exchanger, it can overheat and crack. Even if your furnace doesn't break as a direct result of a clogged filter, additional system wear and tear can cause it to eventually fail and require replacement or extensive repairs sooner than it might otherwise have occurred. At Home Climates, we offer service settings for HVAC systems so you can maintain the health of your system. We recommend scheduling an oven set-up every fall so you can be sure your oven is in top condition before the colder weather sets in.
Even if you decide to wait for maintenance to take place during the winter, oven tuning is still important and useful. Our service technicians can take care of replacing the filters, as well as inspecting the oven and diagnosing any potential problems. The long-term effect of not changing the HVAC filter is the eventual failure of your unit. Before that happens, however, your system will become clogged with dirt and dust from outside.
If you find that your oven has a dirty filter but don't have a spare on hand, you may be tempted to remove it and let the oven run without one. If you use disposable filters, make sure to find the exact filter size to purchase and install a replacement filter. There are many different types of filters to choose from and a professional can recommend one that works more efficiently and filters out certain details that others can't. If you don't replace your air filter often enough, it will work less efficiently or it may stop working altogether due to clogged filters.
To provide more thorough air cleaning, air purifiers can help remove more than 98% of contaminants when combined with the right set of filters. However, some older models have air filters inside them and you may need special tools to replace them. Since filters aren't designed to work indefinitely, even if you have one in your oven, it could clog if it hasn't been changed in a while. It's also important to leave the selection of these filters to the professionals since filters that are too powerful will cut off airflow through the HVAC system, leading to component damage and a loss of home comfort.
