How Often Should You Change Your Furnace Filter – Without a clean air filter, your HVAC unit works harder and is prone to more breakdowns. Compared to other DIY home improvement projects, changing air filters is a quick and painless process that can be done in less than an hour. However, many owners don’t know how often air filters need to be changed, leaving their system vulnerable to damage. Read on to learn when and how to change your air filter.
Air filters trap pet hair, dust and other irritating particles so that your air conditioning system returns fresh, clean air to your home. Eventually, the filter traps so much dust and debris that the air cannot be properly filtered or moved to the HVAC unit, resulting in;
How Often Should You Change Your Furnace Filter
Ideally, you should change your air filter every three months, however, there are some factors to consider when deciding when to replace an old filter.
How Often Should You Replace Your Rv’s Furnace Filter?
While these factors affect the frequency of air filter replacement, you should visually inspect your filter monthly to check for excessive particulate buildup. If a dirty air filter is completely covered in dust and debris, it’s a good idea to change the filter, even if it hasn’t reached the end of its recommended life.
Get the latest Old House news, trusted tips, tricks and DIY Smarts projects from our experts straight to your inbox. When it comes to maintaining a healthy central air system in your home, most homeowners are aware that they need to be replaced regularly. their AC air filters. However, they may not be aware that they should also change their furnace filter at regular intervals.
The furnace is the part of your HVAC air filtration system that is responsible for taking cold air in and heating it before it is blown through the fan to the rest of the house.
Furnaces, the heating component of your central air system, are made of several basic parts that are responsible for heating the air inside your home. A heat exchanger, combustion chamber and fan help improve the air. Your furnace filter helps keep it clean.
Hvac Air Filter Disposal Instructions
So how often should you really change your furnace filter? Let’s take a deeper look at your home’s furnace filter, what it does, and why it’s important to change furnace filters regularly.
Before we get into the details of when and how often to change furnace filters, let’s discuss why they are necessary in the first place.
A furnace filter is used to remove contaminants and dust from the air before it enters the furnace system. The air passes through the filter material where the contaminants are trapped. This keeps contaminants away from the furnace and HVAC equipment further down the line.
Without a filter, the furnace would stop working pretty quickly because the equipment would be too hacked to function properly.
How Often To Change Furnace Filter
There are also some residual benefits that come from using furnace filters. In addition to keeping your HVAC system clean of pollutants, furnace filters also help clean the indoor air you breathe. Cleaning all the air allows the HVAC system to run as efficiently as possible, which lowers the cost of heating and cooling the home. Learn more about the different types of furnace filters.
You may not have realized that your furnace filter needs to be changed because furnace filters are not necessary in every HVAC system. It all depends on the equipment involved and how the system is designed. Below are some cases where an HVAC system does not need a furnace filter.
Some people live in climates where air conditioning is needed almost year-round, meaning home heating is not a concern. HVAC systems may not have a heating component, and therefore they do not need a furnace filter.
Some air conditioners are designed to have a single air filtration system, rather than a separate air conditioner and furnace system. When this is the case, only one fan vent and vent air filter is needed. The filter is placed in the general vent where it cleans the air before it is diverted to the air conditioner or furnace.
Answers To How Often You Should Change Your Furnace Filter
Your specific situation is unique, but most air filtration experts agree that there is a general lifespan for furnace filters.
Keep in mind that this is a general recommendation. There are several factors that can shorten or extend furnace filter replacement intervals.
Furnace filters typically come in 1-, 2-, 4-, and 5-inch thicknesses. The thicker the furnace filter, the more it can hold and the longer it will last. Below is a quick reference for filter thickness and change ranges:
The thickness of your furnace filter is dictated by the vent and furnace filter hole. You can’t try to cram a larger air filter into a smaller fan. It is also not recommended to use a stove filter that is too thin for your stove filter hole. This will result in inadequate filtration and pollutants entering the air in your home.
How To Change Your Furnace Filter (trane Furnace)
Also keep in mind that thicker furnace filters last longer, providing more filtration over time, so they tend to cost more than 1- and 2-inch furnace filters.
There are many variables that affect how often a furnace filter should be changed. Additionally, you may need to change your furnace filter more often at certain times of the year. Rather than simply going off of a standard schedule, below are some signs and special considerations that will let you know when to change your furnace filter.
When in doubt, just take a quick look at your furnace filter. When the filter reaches the end of its life, it will look very dirty. Instead of seeing white pleats, the air filter media will be a darker color, often gray or brown. You can even see larger fragments.
In general, HVAC furnace filters need to be changed less frequently during the winter months than during the summer months. In the winter, as long as the furnace filter isn’t dirty and clogged, you can go the recommended 90 days before needing a replacement. But if you use more than usual, especially during cold periods, it may warrant an earlier replacement interval.
How Often Should You Change Your Furnace Filter? Expert Tips
It all comes down to run time and humidity. Usually, the air conditioner runs more hours during the day during the summer. A longer run time means more air passes through the filter each day. High humidity levels in the summer or winter can also wet your furnace filter. Added moisture reduces the filter’s ability to hold contaminants, and it should be changed more frequently.
At this point, you may be wondering how important changing your furnace filter is in the real world. You may even think you can skip a few changes if you live in a mild climate or aren’t concerned about the air quality in your home.
Even if you live in a temperate climate with high air quality, there is another important reason to change your furnace filter as recommended. Clean furnace filters help protect your HVAC system.
The main purpose of a furnace filter is not to clean the air you breathe, but the air that passes through the furnace and other HVAC equipment. There are hundreds of components that can be adversely affected by air pollutants. When contaminants enter the system, they can cause buildup and premature wear, making the equipment work harder.
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If you don’t change your furnace filter regularly, you could end up with a furnace that doesn’t run as efficiently and will likely have a shorter lifespan. This ends up costing homeowners money in the short term because more energy is used to heat and cool the home.
Long-term costs include more frequent repairs and the need to replace the furnace or entire HVAC system sooner than expected.
Looking for the best air filters for your home? Here you can find specialty furnace filters and standard HVAC filters in a wide range of sizes and thicknesses. We can also create custom sized furnace filters for your exact fit.
We also offer 5-inch furnace filters (16x25x5 or 20x25x5), whole house air filter brands, and rigid cell furnace filters.
How Often Should You Change The Air Filter? Common Hvac Questions
A furnace filter will work if the environment can collect airborne contaminants. When the media is fully saturated, it will no longer be able to filter the air.
A 1-inch furnace filter should be changed at least every 1-3 months or every 90 days.
In the winter, when the furnace is used more often, you should replace the furnace filter more often. It is not uncommon for furnace filters to need to be replaced once a month during the winter. However, if your HVAC has a single filtration system that uses one air filter for the air conditioner and furnace, replacements will be less frequent in the winter than in the summer.
A Honeywell furnace filter will have the same filter replacement recommendations as standard filters. Just be careful not to confuse Honeywell furnace filters with HEPA air filters for air cleaners, which last much longer.
Why Change Your Furnace Filter?
The Carrier furnace filter has similar filter replacement recommendations. Carrier fiberglass furnace filters
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