If you are a conservationist, you should be especially concerned about keeping your HVAC filter changed. The dirtier your filter, the harder your system has to work to cool or warm your home and the more energy your home uses. Conserving your energy usage is one very important way to reduce green house gases and carbon monoxide in the environment.
Changing the Air Filter
Changing the filter regularly will reduce energy usage by 5-15% annually. The frequency that you change your filter can range from once every 30 days to 45 days to as much a once annually. It all depends on your household. If members of your household smoke; if you use a wood burning fireplace; if you live near an active construction site or if you live on a farm or a big city, you may need to change your HVAC filter more frequently than someone who lives in a small subdivision.
Types of Filters
The circumstances in and around your home may also influence the type of filter you buy for your HVAC system. The more elements that affect your air quality, the better quality filter you may chose to buy. Choosing a filter that keeps out more pollutants may be mandatory if your household has members with allergies, asthma or other breathing difficulties. The filter you select will depend on which one gives you the air quality you desire.
- HEPA filters captures 99.97% of all air pollutants, including pollen, mildew, mold, allergens, dust and debris.
- Plain filters will capture dust and pet hair only.
- Pleated filters deliver better air quality because the pollutants are captured in more layers.
- Electrostatic filters will fall in between HEPA filters and Pleated filters as far as effectiveness, capturing 94% of air pollutants.
Check Your Air Filter’s Condition
By keeping an eye on the condition of your filter, you will prevent the extended use of a clogged air filter. Because household energy usage contributed 11% to the greenhouse gases produced in the U.S. in 2011, every time we fail to change our HVAC filters and make our HVAC systems work harder we are adding to those greenhouse gases unnecessarily. The ideal solution to the pollution problem lies in the effort each and every person exerts to keep air pollution down to a minimum. Homeowners can do their part by keeping their filters in excellent condition.
Our world is intricately connected. Despite our efforts to remain self sustaining, we influence the quality of life for not only ourselves, but others as well. Our use of energy to maintain the comfort level in our homes by running heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems affects our future on this earth and that of billions of other people. By simply changing the filters when they become dirty in our HVAC systems, we effectively add life to our HAVC system and most importantly to the world as we know it.
Sources:
http://epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/sources.html