Sudden furnace inefficiency
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Sudden furnace inefficiency
Hello,
I know absolutely nothing about my furnace/air conditioner unit. I am a single mom thats mechanically challenged . My furnace appears to be a Friedrich model w/a Carrier central air conditioning unit. It is very fuel efficient and the house (4 bedrooms..it's large) must be extremely well insulated because I only go thru about $600 of oil in ONE YEAR. I've been in the house since 2004. I've had the furnace cleaned twice.
Here's the problem...I just blew through 100 gallons ($300) in about ONE MONTH ! I have a programmable thermostat and the temp is set mostly at 65 degrees..68 from 7-10pm only on weekdays.
During the summer, the a/c was operating very inefficiently..had a friend look at it..first thing he notices is on the a/c side (I think) a large panel was hanging open and there was a large slanted place (about 45 degrees) that appeared to hold a filter and one wasnt there. He bought a filter, closed the panel (about 18 inches wide and 35 inches long).
Right away, the a/c was back to normal. This morning I go down to check the oil gauge and find that I'm almost out of oil BUT I see that door hanging open. I pulled it all the way open to look at the filter and it appears to be fine..only I noticed that the "filter" is a screen of wire that has no "mesh" in it. I closed the panel...do you think that this might be the reason why the furnace is performing so inefficently or do I have another issue?
Thanks so much for your time!
Jennifer
I know absolutely nothing about my furnace/air conditioner unit. I am a single mom thats mechanically challenged . My furnace appears to be a Friedrich model w/a Carrier central air conditioning unit. It is very fuel efficient and the house (4 bedrooms..it's large) must be extremely well insulated because I only go thru about $600 of oil in ONE YEAR. I've been in the house since 2004. I've had the furnace cleaned twice.
Here's the problem...I just blew through 100 gallons ($300) in about ONE MONTH ! I have a programmable thermostat and the temp is set mostly at 65 degrees..68 from 7-10pm only on weekdays.
During the summer, the a/c was operating very inefficiently..had a friend look at it..first thing he notices is on the a/c side (I think) a large panel was hanging open and there was a large slanted place (about 45 degrees) that appeared to hold a filter and one wasnt there. He bought a filter, closed the panel (about 18 inches wide and 35 inches long).
Right away, the a/c was back to normal. This morning I go down to check the oil gauge and find that I'm almost out of oil BUT I see that door hanging open. I pulled it all the way open to look at the filter and it appears to be fine..only I noticed that the "filter" is a screen of wire that has no "mesh" in it. I closed the panel...do you think that this might be the reason why the furnace is performing so inefficently or do I have another issue?
Thanks so much for your time!
Jennifer
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Grady's comment is probably the main issue. But, here are a couple of other thoughts. Maybe when the unit was running without a filter, the A-coil got plugged up with dirt? But since the unit's performance recovered after closing the door, maybe the A-coil is OK. However, it might be a good idea to inspect the A-coil and wash it if necessary.
Those wire-mesh filters may be OK, but I am a bit skeptical. The advantage is that they can be washed and reused. But they are usually courser than a pleated or fiberglass filter. I have used wire-mesh filters ahead of an electrostatic air cleaner or ahead of a high-efficiency pleated filter.
You need to get somebody to fix the door so it doesn't open on its own.
Those wire-mesh filters may be OK, but I am a bit skeptical. The advantage is that they can be washed and reused. But they are usually courser than a pleated or fiberglass filter. I have used wire-mesh filters ahead of an electrostatic air cleaner or ahead of a high-efficiency pleated filter.
You need to get somebody to fix the door so it doesn't open on its own.