How Often Does Your Furnace Filter Need Changing?

How Often Does Your Furnace Filter Need Changing?

During those carefree spring and summer months of the year, we often forget how important it is to have a well-functioning furnace but, when the chillier temperatures settle in, we’re grateful for a home that is warm and comfortable. It’s completely bewildering, therefore, when we try to turn up the heat and nothing happens.

While you can’t prevent every problem, one of the most important things you can do to keep your furnace running smoothly is to change the filters on a regular basis. When debris, allergens and other contaminants build up, it can affect your furnace’s efficiency and wear down the components prematurely.

Still, you might be wondering what it means to replace a furnace filter “regularly.” Here are some suggestions for coming up with a routine that will keep your energy costs down while preventing unnecessary repairs.

When to Change Your Furnace Filter

Generally speaking, replacing your furnace filter every 60-90 days should be sufficient but it’s important to consider your unique needs when creating a schedule. The type of air filter you use can make a big difference. A standard fiberglass filter, for example, may need to be replaced much more often than a higher-end pleated one.

Here are some other things to consider:

• Do you have pets?
• Does anyone smoke inside the home?
• Does anyone have asthma or allergies?
• Any young children in the home?
• Do you have a large family?
• How good is your indoor air quality?
• Is construction taking place within or around the home?
• Are you running your HVAC system all day?
• Do you live in a larger home?

As you can see, a number of things can greatly impact how hard your furnace is working and how often you need to replace the filter. If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, you should probably change the filter more often.

Pet dander, cigarette smoke and other particles can dramatically affect indoor air quality. While these types of allergens may impact any of us, it can be particularly problematic for those living with asthma and/or allergies as well as young children.

If your home is large, exposed to contaminants from construction and your HVAC system is running all day, your furnace will be working harder to keep you comfortable, so replacing your filter regularly becomes even more important to ensuring your furnace stays in the best possible condition.

Tips for Making Your Filter Last Longer

To protect your furnace, your entire HVAC system and the indoor air quality inside of your home, change your filters, at least, every 90 days. Towards the end of that three-month period, you may even notice a drop in the air quality in your home or an increase in your energy costs. It is important, therefore, to keep things running as smoothly as possible.

Here are some things you can do to make your filter last longer between replacements:

• Use a higher quality furnace filter
• Keep your windows closed
• Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter
• Never smoke inside your home
• Keep pets will groomed

Taking these steps can dramatically improve your furnace’s overall performance whether the filter is fresh or needs replacing.

Benefits of Regular Furnace Maintenance

While some of these have been mentioned already, let’s review some of the reasons why regular maintenance, including changing filters, is so beneficial for your home and HVAC system.

• Lower utility bills
• Improved air quality
• Furnace will last longer
• Fewer emergency repair visits

As the weather chills in the fall and winter months, we all spend more time inside of our homes. For this reason, we should make every effort to protect our health through improved indoor air quality. This is especially important if we plan to use a fireplace or host guests during the holiday season.

Being able to fill our homes with warmth at the press of a button is something many of us take for granted — until it stops working. Of course, the furnace seems to stop working at the worst time. Regular maintenance can spare you from high emergency repair costs by identifying and addressing issues as they arise.

Seek Professional Guidance

Changing your furnace filter might seem straightforward, but it’s always best to make decisions based on your unique needs. Many factors need to be considered in order to come up with the right strategy.A qualified professional can assess your situation and provide time and money-saving suggestions for keeping your furnace well-maintained and functioning at an optimal level. Contact us today for a free consultation!