{"id":930,"date":"2012-07-09T08:00:22","date_gmt":"2012-07-09T12:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/?p=930"},"modified":"2025-02-11T15:18:51","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T20:18:51","slug":"why-are-cleans-filters-so-important-to-ac-efficiency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/air-conditioning\/why-are-cleans-filters-so-important-to-ac-efficiency\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh AC Tip: Why Are Cleans Filters So Important to AC Efficiency?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/air-conditioning\">Air conditioners<\/a> cost money to operate \u2013 even more when they don\u2019t work at 100% efficiency. So, it is important to perform the various regular <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/air-conditioning\/air-conditioning-system-maintenance\">maintenance tasks<\/a>\u00a0on your Pittsburgh\u00a0AC\u00a0that ensure the system uses as little electricity as possible. The first thing on your list (and the easiest) is cleaning those filters.<\/p>\n<h3>Keeping Filters Clean<\/h3>\n<p>The Department of Energy\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/energy.gov\/energysaver\/energy-saver\">Energy Savers website<\/a> states that you can reduce your air conditioner\u2019s energy consumption by as much as 15% simply by keeping the air filters clean. Why do they matter so much? Consider the nature of a filter. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regular maintenance like this is just one of the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/air-conditioning\/air-conditioning-repair\/how-to-save-energy-during-a-hot-summer\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ways to save energy during a hot summer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/indoor-air-quality\/air-cleaners\">filter<\/a> on your AC unit is designed to capture any dust, debris and sediment in the air supply. If that dust and sediment was allowed in, not only would it gum up the mechanical workings of the device, it would get into your ductwork and reduce the air quality of your home. So, filters are used to capture such things. However, when a filter gets clogged, the system must work harder to draw the air in. As it works harder, the motor turns faster and more electricity is used.<\/p>\n<p>It takes very little to clog the filter of an AC unit, especially if it is running 24 hours a day for two or three months out of the year. So, it\u2019s best to check your filters once every 30 days regardless of what type of filter you are using.<\/p>\n<h3>Which Filters to Check<\/h3>\n<p>The main filter on your AC unit should be checked along with any air handler filters and any air cleaner filters you have installed in your system. Another thing to consider is the condition of your home and the area around your outdoor condenser. If you have pets, lots of plants or your condenser is located in a dusty area, you may need to check and change those filters even more often.<\/p>\n<p>Most filters are located along the return length of the ductwork \u2013 sometimes in ceiling ducts and walls, though they may also be located in your furnace\u2019s air handler or inside the air conditioning unit. If you have window units or mini splits, the filters are frequently in the unit. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learn more about<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/air-conditioning\/pittsburgh-ac-guide-things-to-look-for-in-a-new-central-air-conditioning-system\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">things to look for in a new central air conditioning system<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> if it\u2019s time to upgrade.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Clean air filters are important for your health, your wallet and the longevity of your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/air-conditioning\">Pittsburgh\u00a0AC system<\/a>. Stay on top of them and you will save money in more ways than you might expect. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For additional HVAC care tips, check out<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/heating\/things-to-try-before-calling-a-pittsburgh-hvac-professional\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">what to try before calling a Pittsburgh HVAC professional<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span>To schedule your annual maintenance visit today, give\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/contact\">Boehmer Heating &amp; Cooling<\/a> a call!<\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Air conditioners cost money to operate \u2013 even more when they don\u2019t work at 100% efficiency. So, it is important to perform the various regular maintenance tasks on your Pittsburgh AC that ensure the system uses as little electricity as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[275,102,42,73,86,78,104],"class_list":["post-930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-air-conditioning","tag-air-conditioning","tag-air-conditioning-efficiency","tag-air-filters","tag-elizabeth","tag-oakmont","tag-ross","tag-washington-county"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=930"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3286,"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930\/revisions\/3286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}