How To Replace Furnace Filters

Home furnace air filter replacement - Thomas & Galbraith Heating, Cooling, & Plumbing

Cincinnati homes require regular upkeep and maintenance throughout the yr. Changing furnace filters is ane critical task that is frequently skipped – to the detriment of your condolement and the functioning of your dwelling'south heating and cooling equipment! With a dirty filter in place, y'all gamble compromising your comfort, energy costs, and HVAC system

Thomas & Galbraith's NATE-certified heating and cooling professionals share why irresolute furnace filters must be done. Learn the true purpose of this arrangement component, how oft irresolute furnace filters needs to be performed, and the issues that arise when y'all skip this task.

From heating and cooling system maintenance that ensures a clean filter to HVAC repair that counteracts the problems caused by a dirty ane, nosotros provide the services you need for a comfy dwelling twelvemonth-round. Call Thomas & Galbraith today to schedule service.

What Does a Furnace Filter Do?

Your furnace filter traps airborne contaminants to clean your air, right? While yep, it does do that, that's not exactly its job – despite what most people believe.

The primary function of a furnace filter is to trap airborne contaminants not for air quality purposes, only to keep them out of your heating and cooling system. However, because the filter removes contaminants for the system's benefit, air quality also benefits from their removal.

How Oft Is Changing Furnace Filters Necessary?

Changing furnace filters is a job that'south frequency varies from ane firm to the next. How often this task needs to exist performed is greatly dependent on the type of furnace filter in identify. If yous have a peak downward the filter replacement aisle at your favorite hardware shop, you'll meet there are a lot of options to choose from – lots of different filter types to bear on irresolute frequency.

Changing furnace filters needs to be completed every month to every year – just similar there is a great range of filters, there's a pretty wide range to how ofttimes they need to be replaced. Luckily, changing furnace filters doesn't depend on a guess. The filter's manufacturer provides the recommended replacement frequency within the product information that'due south included when you lot purchase a new filter.

To give y'all a starting bespeak for what frequency you're looking at for changing furnace filters, size matters. Thicker filters have more than media available to capture contaminants, so a five-inch filter requires less frequent changes than a i-inch filter. Filter efficiency also has an bear on – this is expressed as MERV, which stands for minimum efficiency reporting value .

In general, this is how oftentimes changing furnace filters needs to be done:

For one- to 2-inch filters, replace them every ane to 3 months
For three- to 4-inch filters, replace them every half dozen to 9 months
For 5- to 6-inch filters, supercede them every 9 to 12 months

More than Factors that Affect Frequency of Changing Furnace Filters

As nosotros mentioned, size and efficiency are two attributes that touch the frequency changing furnace filters is performed. In addition, there are diverse factors specific to your Cincinnati expanse household that have a greater touch on on how often you really need a new filter.

Dwelling Occupancy

The number of people living in a dwelling house affects the useful service life of a furnace filter. In a large household, irresolute furnace filters is done on a more frequent basis than homes with just one or 2 occupants. People introduce many contaminants to the abode environment, so the more people there are in your home, the more than contaminants there are for the filter to catch.

Furry Family Members

Pets are another major contributor of contaminants into the indoor air supply. Pets shed fur and dander, which are picked upwards by airflow and circulated throughout the abode by the HVAC arrangement. For every furry family member living in your habitation, a filter's useful service life is reduced by approximately 30 days, so yous're changing furnace filters more often.

Indoor Air Quality

If you have air quality issues present in the home, your furnace filter isn't going to concluding every bit long every bit information technology does in a home with skilful indoor air quality. Indoor air quality equipment like air purifiers and air cleaners reduce contaminant volume so there's fewer particles for your furnace filter to capture – in homes without this equipment, the furnace filter is the only line of defense confronting airborne contaminants, so the filter fills up faster.

Allergies

If members of your household endure from allergies or asthma, irresolute furnace filters should be washed on a more than frequent basis. Doing then helps ensure contaminants that cause symptoms are removed from your indoor air supply.

Heating & Cooling Usage

When your home's heating and cooling equipment is heavily operated, filters have a shorter useful service life – air is circulated more than frequently, so the filter has more opportunities to choice upwardly contaminants and become clogged. In the summer and wintertime, homeowners are typically changing furnace filters more often than they are in the fall and spring.

Dirty Furnace Filter Disasters

When irresolute furnace filters is forgotten or skipped, various issues arise in Cincinnati households. Dirty furnace filters spell disaster for heating and cooling equipment, home condolement, and indoor air quality.

HVAC System Damage

Heating and cooling equipment similar furnaces and air handlers are filled with many delicate components. Without filtration, airborne grit, dirt, and other debris enters the various chambers of the unit and settles on its components. Contaminants accrue and worsen the performance of the equipment, even causing damage to components.
When filters are clogged only the HVAC system continues to run, air doesn't movement through the system properly. With the dirty filter blocking its path, heating and cooling equipment expends more energy to push air along. This extra piece of work stresses the system'southward components, using more energy and damaging equipment.
Airflow blockage caused past a muddy filter raises the temperature within the HVAC equipment, causing it to overheat. After information technology cools, information technology starts support over again, simply the problem persists – this is an issue known equally brusk-cycling, and dirty filters are the well-nigh common cause. Curt-cycling leads to HVAC system damage that requires repair and early total organisation failures, in improver to backlog energy consumption, higher utility bills, and diminished indoor comfort.
Equally contaminants flow through the HVAC system due to a dirty filter, they collect inside the condensate drainage components and clogs form. Clogs end condensate from draining out of the home, and it may spill over which results in h2o damage to HVAC equipment and nearby areas. Plus, excess condensation increases indoor humidity levels which disrupts condolement.

Poor Comfort & Air Quality

Considering airflow is restricted when changing furnace filters is forgotten, living areas do not receive the proper amount of heating and cooling. Information technology becomes difficult to maintain comfort levels and homeowners often find hot and cold spots.
When the filter is covered in contaminants, there is no more than surface area left to trap new contaminants passing through. Therefore, those contaminants remain in the air supply and move dorsum into your home where they cause allergy symptoms, respiratory issues, bodily irritations, and dirtier surfaces no matter how frequently you make clean!

Never Forget Another Filter Change!

Changing furnace filters is so very important, not simply for your HVAC system only for your household. It's all too easy to skip a filter change when your HVAC equipment is tucked abroad out of sight, but this important task must be made a priority.

It'due south smart to bank check your filter monthly to assess its condition. Sometimes, your system may require changing furnace filters early, but information technology's difficult to tell if you lot never await for yourself! Accept a peek at the filter once a month and supplant it when you notice its surface media is completely covered in contaminants.

Because changing furnace filters is so important, here are a few strategies to help ensure y'all call back to perform this essential domicile maintenance chore.

Mark monthly filter checks besides as changes at the appropriate interval on your wall calendar or inside your day planner.

If you prefer your smartphone's calendar app, schedule reminders with an alarm that sounds to take hold of your attention.

Link checking and changing furnace filters with other important tasks you lot complete each calendar month. As the filter's condition can impact how much free energy the arrangement consumes, check information technology when y'all pay your monthly utility neb! Do not file that pecker abroad until yous check or alter your filter.

Thomas & Galbraith Delivers the Care Your HVAC System Needs

Changing furnace filters on a regular basis has slap-up impacts on domicile comfort and indoor air quality, as well as the operation, energy efficiency, and longevity of your HVAC system. Ensure your comfort arrangement receives the professional care it needs – maintenance tune ups remove droppings and takes intendance of filter changes. If the damage of a dirty filter has already been done, our skilled technicians work to counteract the issue to restore performance.

Call Thomas & Galbraith today to schedule heating and cooling services, including HVAC repair and heating and cooling tune ups.