An air conditioning system's air filters play the important role of keeping dust and mold particles away from its inner parts. Doing so usually helps to ensure that the air that the system dumps into a home is free of impurities. It also helps to shield the system's parts from dirt-related complications, something that helps to ensure that the system operates efficiently.

However, if the air filters of an air conditioning system are not properly maintained, they can cause premature system repairs. One of the parts that can fall victim to this is the air blower unit's motor. Here is how poorly maintained air filters can affect your air conditioner's air blower motor.

Added load on the blower's motor

The air blower unit is the part of the air conditioning system that is responsible for sucking in air from your home and then driving it through the heating and air conditioning system. To do this effectively, the unit relies on a fan that is powered by a motor.

Worn-out air filters are usually ineffective when it comes to protecting the air conditioning system from dust invasion. When these invading dust particles reach the bower unit, they usually settle on the blades of the fan – especially on the cupped side of the fan's blades.

With time, the continued accumulation of dust particles on the blades will increase the overall weight of the blades. This is will be a problem for the motor that turns the blades. Why? Because it is designed to handle a given weight. As a result, any additional weight can be too much for the motor to handle and thus causing it to overheat. In some cases, the increase in weight can even cause it to burn out.

Increase in operating hours

In addition to weight increase, the accumulated dust particles may also reduce the volume of air that the fan can drive at any given time. This is because when the dust particles accumulate on the depressed side of the blades, it changes the shape of the blades by making them less depressed. This reduces the volume of air that the blades can handle. As a result, to be able to drive as much air as the system needs in order to make your home as comfortable as it should be, the motor will have to work harder and longer, something that will then accelerate the rate at which it wears out.

If you want to protect your blower unit's motor, make sure that you clean your air filters regularly. Changing the filters regularly – at least four times in a year – is also advisable.