The Negative Impacts of Air Bypass and What You Can Do To Eliminate It

Maintaining a comfortable, safe and efficient facility is a top priority for any business owner or facility manager. Regular HVAC preventive maintenance services such as air filter replacements or coil cleanings can help you achieve these goals, but there's another critical element of your HVAC preventive maintenance program that can't be overlooked: your filter choice.

Many facilities use traditional box filters, assuming they are the most economical, straightforward choice. In reality, traditional box filters come with numerous hidden costs — such as excess energy use and undue wear and tear on your units due to air bypass.

Let's explore how air bypass can negatively impact your facility and uncover some simple improvements that can help you take your HVAC preventive maintenance program to the next level.

Eliminating air bypass

Eliminating air bypass is a critical step in protecting your HVAC units. Traditional box filters create air bypass because they are designed to be a half inch shorter than your filter track on all sides to aid in installation. These gaps between and around each filter allow unfiltered air to travel into your condenser coil. You may have even seen these "tiger stripes" of dirt and debris on your coils before, which are the result of particulates building up due to air bypass.

The effects of air bypass can be costly. A dirty condenser coil transfers heat less efficiently, forcing your HVAC units to work harder and run longer to cool your space. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates a dirty condenser coil can increase compressor energy consumption by 30%. Over time, as your coils work harder to cool the space, your compressors can overheat, shortening the overall lifespan of your units and leading to unexpected system failures and emergency repairs.

Improving indoor air quality and safety

A dirty condenser coil also runs the risk of spreading harmful contaminants throughout your facility — a risk you can't afford to take in today's environment. In their official COVID-19 positioning statement, ASHRAE stresses the importance of eliminating air bypass.

Contaminants like dust, pollen, mold and bacteria that can get trapped in your coils can quickly wreak havoc on your indoor air quality (IAQ), leading to expensive consequences. Research shows that for every 1,000 workers, poor IAQ results in 600 sick days each year.

To avoid this situation, you need a continuous media filter system that can eliminate air bypass and ensure your units are protected and working at optimal efficiency.

PleatLink^®: A safe, economical filter choice

Where others firms would need 20 cardboard boxes to transport one case of standard box filters, we use one bag for the same quantity of our patented PleatLink filters

PleatLink® is BFC's patented, continuous media HVAC air filter technology that is custom-fit to your HVAC systems. PleatLink® is designed with a one-inch overhang on all sides, creating a gasket-like seal in your filter track. This eliminates air bypass and provides superior protection for your HVAC systems' internal components, resulting in a safer environment for the occupants inside your facilities. PleatLink® filters are engineered without cardboard, eliminating tons of unnecessary cardboard waste. Our filters condense easily during transportation to achieve maximum efficiency. While other preventive maintenance providers might need to take three trips to their supply house to complete large service calls with traditional box filters (all while charging you accordingly for this "windshield time"), our technicians can fit a week's worth of filters on their trucks at a time.

As the largest self-performing commercial HVAC preventive maintenance service provider in the country, BFC trains its technicians to provide high-quality, dependable service for your HVAC systems. Unlike other contractors that use preventive maintenance service calls to find and schedule more high-value repairs for themselves later, our technicians specialize in preventive maintenance — providing the most trustworthy, accurate repair recommendations via our ReportLink^® system.

For more information about how BFC can help your preventive maintenance program, get in touch with us today!