Do I Really Need A Furnace Filter

HVAC Dirty Air Filter

Your furnace performs several disquisitional roles inside your home, including warming and filtering your supply of indoor air. As your air heating and cooling system runs throughout the year, your arrangement moves airflow through furnace filters, which are designed to trap fine particulates. These filters remove dust and dirt that could accumulate within your furnace, and clean pet dander, pollen, grit, and other thing from your domicile to amend air quality.

Replacing your furnace filter regularly is a good idea considering it keeps your HVAC system and your indoor air safe and good for you. During the winter, yous may need to change your furnace filter more oft, since many families spend more than time at dwelling and the organization is used heavily. Utilise this guide to help you to find out what yous need to replace your filter and how often to take care of this important maintenance chore.

Why Should Y'all Switch Out Your Furnace Filter?

Irresolute out your furnace filter is an essential component of HVAC maintenance that your heating and cooling system requires multiple times per year. Depending on your system, you may accept a disposable or reusable furnace filter. Reusable furnace filters are common in ductless HVAC systems, and may consist of a thin, metal, perforated sheet that yous remove, rinse off, dry out, and supplant. Near conventional forced air heat pump and furnace systems use dispensable filters.

Regardless of which filters your system relies on, information technology is important for homeowners to sympathise why filters are important, and how they work to remove dust, dirt, and fine particulates from your indoor air.

While your furnace, rut pump, or air conditioner may seem very sturdy, your system relies on delicate internal sensors and components that may not function accordingly when they become muddy or damaged. For this reason, air filter replacement improves efficiency and system performance, lowering your free energy costs and extending the life of your heater.

The office of an HVAC filter is to remove particulates as airflow moves through the unit. While the principal role of air filters is to protect the frail internal workings of your furnace, homeowners too enjoy better indoor air quality as a consequence of excellent air filtration. Every filter has a MERV rating, or Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value, which measures a filter's ability to screen particulates. Higher MERV ratings point a effectively filter capable of trapping more dust and debris, while lower ratings indicate more than porous filters that don't screen as many.

However, when any air filter becomes dirty, its power to promote acceptable airflow throughout your furnace becomes hampered. Replacing your air filter promotes proper air filtration, while likewise balancing pressures inside your system and reducing static buildup.

What Can Happen if Y'all Don't Supplant Filters?

Oftentimes, homeowners become busy and forget to replace air filters. While this may not seem like a critical issue, it can cause big problems for your heating and cooling system. Always continue extra furnace filters on manus and exist ready to switch them out as soon as they appear muddied. Hither are a few issues caused by failure to replace air filters:

Increased energy utilisation. When air filters become clogged and dirty, air that passes through the organization tin push grime further into the furnace, where dirt and dust can accumulate onto components within the furnace. When furnace components are dirty, they aren't as capable of transmitting oestrus, forcing the furnace to run longer to generate the warmth your home needs. As a consequence, free energy bills may increase.
Spotty heating. Dirty filters tin can block airflow significantly enough to forbid warmed air from moving into the rooms of your dwelling house. Dust and grime can even coat the insides of ducts, creating full blockages. Either problem tin cause cold spots throughout your abode, since air pressure may not flow evenly throughout your home. Locations furthest away from your furnace are the most likely to exist cold and uncomfortable if air filters or ducts become muddy, since the air will have to travel farther. When airflow is restricted, the heating organization uses more free energy in its attempts to move warm air into your living areas.
Higher risks of emergency breakdowns. When dirt accumulates within your furnace, it can stress critical components. Equally a system with a dirty air filter and blocked airflow attempts to oestrus your habitation, it may overheat, close down the system, or even crack the heat exchanger and damage other frail components. Each of these bug is serious, and emergency professional person repair may be necessary to restore heat.
Shortened furnace lifespan. If you lot want to get the most life possible out of your furnace, replacing the air filter is disquisitional. Operating HVAC systems with dirty filters can cause issues that demand repairs, or even shorten the life of your furnace. Nonetheless, routine filter replacements and professional tune ups help counteract wear and tear, so your organisation lasts as long as possible.
Reduced air quality. Dingy air filters lose their power to filter contaminants, allowing particulates to cycle back throughout your home. Many homeowners notice higher levels of dust or more bug with allergies when air filters aren't replaced appropriately.

When to Supersede Your Furnace Filters

There are many factors that play into how often your air filter will need to be replaced, including filter multifariousness, thickness, size, MERV rating, and even the number of people in your household. If you have indoor pets or family members with allergies, you may need more frequent air filter changes. Smokers or homeowners who are undergoing dwelling house renovations may also need to switch out their air filter more often.

Filter manufacturers offer basic recommendations for the lifespans of dissimilar varieties of furnace filters. Keep in mind that depending on which type of filter you use, you may demand to replace your filter every bit ofttimes as every few weeks, or every bit infrequently as every six months to a year. Become familiar with your furnace filters to learn what the manufacturer recommends, but keep this guide on hand equally a general rule of pollex.

MERV 1-4 filters: Replace once a month.
MERV 5-viii filters: Replace every three months.
MERV 9-11 filters: Replace every six months.
MERV 12-xvi filters: Replace every nine months to one yr.

Wintertime is particularly hard on furnaces and their filters, since virtually people run heating more often. Higher levels of organisation usage can fill up filters faster, so cheque your filter every few weeks and switch it out as soon as it becomes dirty.

How Should You Supersede Your Furnace Filter?

Switching out your furnace filter is fast, easy, and a task that any homeowner can tackle on their own. Irresolute filters is as simple equally accessing the old filter and replacing it with a new variety, merely there are a few disquisitional things to know to accept care of the job correctly.

It'due south important to replace your old filter with one that is the exact same size, then write downwardly the size indicated on your existing filter and bring that information with you to the hardware shop when you pick upwards a replacement. Before y'all choose a filter, check the markings on your old filter and the instructions within your furnace'due south owner's transmission to ensure you lot have the right model for your system. Many residential systems won't operate appropriately if a filter with an exceptionally high MERV rating is used, since these can cake airflow – MERV 13 is typically the highest rating appropriate for residential heaters. The replacement filter should fit perfectly within the cabinet and allow air to laissez passer through hands.

Stride-Past-Step Instructions to Replace an Air Filter

Notice the air filter compartment on your furnace. Most systems have this compartment on their return side, where air enters the unit for heating. In that location may exist a compartment door to open that conceals the filter.
Have a picture show of the placement of the existing air filter for future reference. Remove the filter and dispose of it. If your filter is reusable, clean information technology according to manufacturer'south instructions. Most reusable filters crave vacuuming and so rinsing to loosen and remove debris. Never utilize soap, as this can leave backside a residue that attracts new dirt. Permit the filter dry before reinserting. Some manufacturers offer a mail-in recycling option for disposable filters, so await for mailing instructions if that is the case.
Remove plastic coverings from the new filter, and pop it into the filter compartment. Brand sure the arrows on the sides of the unit of measurement move in the same direction airflow travels as it moves through the organisation. Refer to your previous photo to ensure the new filter is in the same orientation as the old model.
Shut the filter access panel.

Maintain Your Furnace This Wintertime

Filter replacement is important for the health of your furnace, then take the job seriously. Keep extra filters on mitt so yous tin always switch yours out if you need to, and fix a reminder in your phone or on a personal calendar to check your system every few weeks, or at least one time a month. Remember, you tin can ever contact u.s.a. here at Jarboe'southward Heating, Cooling & Plumbing if you have questions nearly your organisation. We are e'er here to assist!