All air conditioners are engineered with a specific airflow volume needed to cool and dehumidify correctly. The indoor air handler or furnace has provisions for a certain type of filter in the air stream, and choosing the correct air filter can significantly affect how well your air conditioner works. As a homeowner, ensuring your system has the optimal filter is an easy way to protect your investment.
Sometimes, the AC system filter is in the format of a four- or five-inch thick media filter. These media filters are designed to handle a large volume of airflow and filter out small particles of dust and pollen from the air. As long as these media filters are changed at the recommended intervals, usually 1 to 3 times a year, they rarely pose a problem.
However, many systems use an air filter only one inch thick. This is where we encounter problems. Filter manufacturers offer dense, pleated paper filters advertised to greatly reduce the dust and pollen in your home. While they remove dust and pollen from the air stream in your ductwork, they often significantly restrict the air stream. This reduces the volume of air the system is moving and affects the overall system performance with problems ranging from reduced cooling capacity to a premature failure of the blower motor or compressor.
Many of our service calls are due to using an air filter that is too restrictive for the system’s airflow. In most cases where the air conditioning system uses a one-inch filter, the best choice is the basic, inexpensive “spun-glass” filter. While this type of filter does not remove dust and dirt particles like the more expensive filters, it allows for the most airflow of any filter, and they are usually sufficient to keep your air conditioning equipment clean if they are changed regularly.
If your home’s air conditioning system is not performing as well as you would like, a simple and inexpensive fix is to replace the expensive dust and allergen reduction filter with a basic spun-glass type air filter. Be sure to change these filters monthly when the system is operating, and your system will likely perform better with lower operating costs and reduced wear and tear.
If a simple filter swap doesn’t do the trick, it may be time for a system performance check to keep your home comfortable all summer.
