When and How to Change Your Furnace Filter

Caring for your furnace can help more than you’d think in the time in between furnace service appointments. One of the simplest, and critical, ways to care for your furnace is in changing your furnace filter. Having a filthy air filter can contribute to a variety of negative 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 replace your furnace filter?

• Type of filter: the two most common filter sizes are 1 inch and 3 inch filters. 1 inch filters typically need to be changed every month and 3 inch filters ought to be changed every three months, depending on the recommendations of the filter maker.
• Home habits: if you have pets in your home, it may make sense to change your filter more often as a result of pet dander. If you have someone in the house that deals with allergies or asthma, think about changing your home’s air filter more frequently to help potentially decrease their symptoms.

Now you’re likely wondering how to swap out your furnace filter. Obviously this will change depending on what furnace you have, but normally: 

• Open or take off the air filter panel around the bottom of your furnace to uncover an open compartment.
• On the top of that open compartment is where your furnace filter is resting on two metal brackets.
• There will be a bit of 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, inspect the perimeter of the filter for an arrow that indicates the air flow direction, to ensure you’re installing the filter in the correct direction. In nearly all cases, the arrow should point towards the main part (or top) of the furnace.