One of the biggest threats to the health of your furnace is, ironically, one of the easiest to avoid. Short cycling is a behavior in which your furnace turns itself on and off every couple of minutes. This puts a massive amount of strain on the system, and if it isn’t dealt with it could easily lead to the early death of the furnace. Fortunately, if you know what to do you can drastically lower the chances of this happening to your system. Read on to find out more about why it’s important to change the air filter in your furnace.
The Air Filter
Every furnace has an air filter, typically located somewhere in the return duct for the system. This filter is designed to capture any dust and other debris that might otherwise make it into the system and damage it. While the air filter is quite good at its job, it suffers from the problem of not being able to get rid of any debris it captures. The filter must be cleaned or replaced, depending on the type, every few months in order to keep functioning properly. Otherwise, it will become clogged.
Short Cycling
If the air filter becomes clogged, there will not be enough air flow to move heat out of the furnace. This will cause the furnace to overheat and shut down. When the furnace cools off enough to restart, it will simply overheat again and shut down again because the air filter is still clogged. Repeated short cycling will drastically increase the wear and tear on the furnace, shortening its lifespan. So, make sure that you have your air filter changed on a regular basis in order to prevent this from happening.
If you need help changing your air filter, or your furnace needs repairs, call Climate Masters. We serve all of Ponte Vedra, FL.
