To: The Village Quarter Residents
Attention All Residents:
Does your furnace have a proper air filter installed? Mine did not, for the two years I've been here. I'm expecting you don't have the proper one either.
I discovered this when I kept getting a musty smell every time my AC turned on. Upon investigation of the furnace, I noticed the air filter was just a pre-filter, or MERV 1, which indicates its filtering capabilities. I provided a picture of the range of MERV filters where you can see MERV 1 is the lowest as well as the pre-filter on the left next to a standard MERV 11 filter.
I reported the concern to maintenance and they stated that, "Those types of furnaces don't use air filters like a traditional home furnace would." I spoke with two separate HVAC technicians and they both said all furnaces use air filters, one stating that my coils were, "Insanely dirty" from the poor filter quality. You can see the buildup on the coils and all over the inside of the furnace in the pictures I've attached.
To check if you have a proper filter: open the white hinged vent cover from the bottom. If you have the basic MERV 1 pre-filter as pictured you could request a proper one from maintenance. Although, I purchased one that would be considered a standard (MERV 11) filter myself. The filter should be replaced every 2-3 months.
In my opinion, this is a cost-cutting measure made by The Village Quarter that negatively affects you, the renter with poor air quality and poor efficiency leading to higher utility costs.