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Health & Fitness

What? I Need to Change Air Filters in the Winter?

Something as simple as an air filter might be what your furnace needs to keep your home warm.

I am often asked, “Do I need to change air filters on my furnace during the winter?” Let me answer that question before saying anything else, “YES!”.  And that is a very, very big yes. Most people don’t think about changing the filter during the cooler parts of the year. But it’s just as essential to do so during the winter as it is in the summer.

A short “filter” story

Miss Lynn lives right outside of Santa Rosa. She called me last winter and told me her home was always cold and her furnace ran too much. She wanted to know if the “freon” had anything to do with her heating unit.

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I figured I had better head over to pay her a visit so I could see what was going on. A quick check of her unit showed me that there was only one thing that was wrong. She had the dirtiest air filter I had ever seen. The air just could not flow throughout her home.

I changed her filter on the spot. By the time I left her home was noticeably warmer.

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Air filters – Change yours regularly this winter

Still not convinced? Here are some great reasons why you need to replace your furnace filter during the winter. It’s not hard to do and it will make a huge difference to you and your furnace.

  • Indoor air quality - One of the biggest things air filters do is to clean the air as it moves throughout your home. You simply breathe cleaner air. This is especially important if someone in your home has asthma or allergies. You also probably spend more time inside during the winter months. Keep your air cleaner with good filters.
  • Extends the life of your unit – When your AC unit’s filter gets clogged, it has to work much harder to do its job. The motor and blower work overtime. The entire system can overheat. As a matter of fact one of the leading causes of heating, and cooling, units breaking down is a dirty filter. Newer units can often be repaired, but older ones may have to be replaced. Clean filters extend the life of your HVAC system.
  • Keeps energy costs down – If your filter is dirty, your entire system has to work harder. This causes it to use much more energy which means it costs more to operate. A clean HVAC filter can save you from 5 to 15% on utility costs.
  • Better air flow – When air filters get dirty, they begin to restrict air flow. If a filter gets too dirty, parts of your home might not get warm since air might not even flow to them. Keep the air in your home flowing freely with clean air filters.
  • Peace of mind – Look, if you change your filters on a regular basis, you will have the peace of mind in knowing your furnace will work better and use less energy. It will also mean I will make fewer trips to your home!

Air filters – You need them all year long

Here is the skinny on the deal. If I can only give you one piece of advice about your heating and cooling system, this would be it … keep the air filter clean, all year long, even in winter. This will make your unit work better and use less energy.

You know that I don’t mind coming to your home to help you out with your heating and cooling issues. However, let’s keep those trips for the big problems. If you change your air filter, you see me a lot less!

You don’t want to find yourself caught off guard this winter. So we have created this free report “Winterize Your Home and Save Money” that you can download here. If you need help with any of your heating needs this winter, please call me at 707-953-3345.

For more helpful information, please come visit the blog at our Affordable Heating and Air website.

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