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[C363]Central Air Conditioning Filters

by Karen Butterworth, Kar

Another very important job that your air conditioner filter does is helps to keep dust from collecting on the evaporator coil of your air conditioning system. It is located inside the air handler and is one of the four main components of any air conditioning system. The air filter is usually located somewhere just before the evaporator coil.

Any dust that passes through the filter ends up back in your living space and can be very irritating to allergy sufferers and anyone else who is sensitive to dust.

The filter also prevents the evaporator coil from becoming clogged with dust and reducing the efficiency of the equipment.

This evaporator coil is very similar to the radiator in a car. Like your car radiator, it will not be able to do its job without proper airflow. The reason I'm comparing it to a car radiator is because most of us know what a radiator does, but an evaporator coil works to cool air as it passes through.

It could take months or even years for dust to accumulate in the fins of the evaporator coil; it can even form a layer of dust on the fins.

If your air conditioner is serviced regularly the technician will check this and tell you when it needs to be cleaned, if this is not done it will lead to expensive repairs.

So the benefits of an efficient air conditioner filter would not only be cleaner air, but save you money because the air conditioning will perform at a higher efficiency.

One key to having a reliable air conditioning system is proper maintenance. The first place to start the maintenance is with the air conditioning filter. This is usually an easy do it yourself job provided you don't forget.

It is a natural tendency to try to wait as long as possible to change the filter, but that is not wise. Running your air conditioner with a dirty filter is not very efficient. This could lead to longer running intervals which may lead to more electric use than the cost of the filter.

There are many types of filters available today and if air quality is not a concern the inexpensive fiberglass filters may do the job. These should keep the evaporator and duct work reasonably clean unless the air is really dirty. Regular cleaning of the evaporator should be done to keep it free of dirt and mold.

If the air quality is a concern, the fiberglass filter won't do the job. Instead, a filter should be selected that does a better job of trapping smaller air born particles. This is when the MERV rating which gives a benchmark for a filters performance will be useful.

A word of caution, some filters may be too restrictive for the system in your home. In such cases air flow can be reduced enough to cause problems with freeze up. It is important to keep the air flow in line with the systems design for best operation.

If your system is installed properly, sized correctly and has the ducts well designed air flow problems should be limited only to dirty or overly restrictive filters. Some might think to operate the air conditioner with no filter to avoid air flow problems. That would be a mistake leading to dirty evaporator and ductwork.

If the evaporator becomes dirty the efficiency begins to suffer right away. This means the electrical consumption goes up and for most of us a visit from and AC repairman will be necessary.

The most cost effective and trouble free way to run your system is with regular filter changes. Trying to stretch the change intervals to save a few bucks does not make sense. With the cost of electricity on the rise not mention the cost of a service call from an AC technician you could buy a lot of filters and come out way ahead.

Don't be caught with your system down during the next heat wave.

Article Source : Pg. 160

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Both Karen Butterworth & Dave Thinel are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Karen Butterworth has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Management, Home Appliances and Blood Pressure. . Karen Butterworth's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.

Dave Thinel has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Management, GPS Vehicle Tracking and Watches Reviews. Dave helps people to learn about , and the. Dave Thinel's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.