When and How to Change Your Furnace Filter

Taking care of your furnace can help quite a bit in the period in between furnace service appointments. One of the simplest, and critical, ways to take care of your furnace lies in changing your furnace filter. Having a clogged air filter may contribute to a number of adverse concerns for your heating and cooling system, its efficiency, and ultimately, how much your energy costs are every month.

So what goes in to consideration when you should switch out your furnace filter?

• Type of filter: the two most common filter sizes are 1 inch and 3 inch filters. 1 inch filters usually need to be switched out every month and 3 inch filters need to be replaced every three months, dependent on the recommendations of the filter maker.
• Home habits: if you have pets in your home, it may make sense to replace your filter more often due to pet dander. If you have someone in the house that deals with allergies or asthma, think about switching out your home’s air filter more often to help potentially decrease their symptoms.

Now you’re possibly wondering how to replace your furnace filter. More than likely, this will change depending on what furnace you have, but usually: 

• Open or pull off the air filter panel close to the bottom of your furnace to reveal an open compartment.
• On the top of that open compartment is where you’ll see your furnace filter resting on two metal brackets.
• There will be a little space to move your filter back and forth that allows you to pull down one end of the filter and take it out of the compartment.
• When adding the new filter, look at the perimeter of the filter for an arrow that specifies the air flow direction, to make sure you’re installing the filter in the proper direction. In nearly all cases, the arrow should point towards the main part (or top) of the furnace.