This is the time of year, as the utility bills begin to climb higher and higher for many in the country, when property owners consider steps they could take to save some cash.  This is also an era that wants to do good by the environment.  Fortunately, the two – financial savings and eco-friendly decision making — often go hand-in-hand when it comes to heating and cooling systems.

Among the many issues that can arise with an aging HVAC system, which can both tax the wallet and the environment, is the dirty filter.

Having dirty filters is a problem in residential, commercial, and industrial environments.  It may seem like a small detail, and, in a way it is, which makes it easy to overlook.  But dirty filters can hinder airflows to various spaces within the home or building.  They can cause the fans to operate at higher speeds, which in turn means that the system is using more energy. And, of course, dirty filters are cannot efficiently do the job they are meant to do.

Most residential homes do not have differential pressure switches that alarm when the differential pressure across the filter get to high, but these fixtures should be in place in commercial or industrial spaces, where the systems are much larger and more difficult to inspect regularly.  The lack of the sensors in residential buildings is not overly troubling.  It is simply up to the home owner to be vigilant about checking their filters regularly. New filters are not expensive, but can save a great deal of money, and will also make the system more eco-friendly.

In the commercial and industrial world, most air systems have differential pressure switches that monitor filters and alarm when the differential pressure exceeds the max set point. Thermo Scientific STD 5000 is one such example, a simple solution that can be used to measure pressures at the filters and determine if the filters need replacement.