In commercial heating and ventilation systems, maintenance personnel monitor differential pressure gauges across large particulate air filters. When dust and debris accumulate over months of operation, resistance to airflow steadily increases, creating a measurable pressure drop between the upstream and downstream sides of the filter bank. Rather than replacing filters on an arbitrary calendar schedule, facility engineers use this pressure difference as the primary indicator for filter replacement. Installing fresh filters only when the pressure drop exceeds manufacturer thresholds minimizes unnecessary operational costs while maintaining proper indoor airflow.
According to the passage, facility technicians determine the right time to replace air filters by doing which of the following?
- AAdhering to an arbitrary calendar schedule for routine maintenance
- Checking the variance in air pressure between opposite sides of the filtration unitCevap
- CWaiting until airflow resistance across the filter bank decreases significantly
- DMeasuring the physical weight of dust particles collected on the filter surface