When and How to Change Your Furnace Filter

Taking care of your furnace can help more than you’d think in the time in between furnace service appointments. One of the easiest, and critical, ways to maintain your furnace is by changing your furnace filter. Having a clogged air filter may contribute to a host 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 deciding 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 normally need to be changed every month and 3 inch filters need to be swapped out every three months, based on the recommendations of the filter maker.
• Home habits: if you have pets in your home, it might make sense to switch out your filter more often due to pet dander. If a family member suffers from allergies or asthma, consider replacing 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 vary depending on what furnace you have, but normally: 

• Open or take off the air filter panel close to the bottom of your furnace to expose an open compartment.
• On the top of that open compartment is where you will find your furnace filter resting on two metal supports.
• There will be a bit of space to move your filter back and forth that allows you to bring down one end of the filter and take it out of the compartment.
• When putting in the new filter, check the perimeter of the filter for an arrow that shows you the air flow direction, to be sure you’re installing the filter in the proper direction. In most cases, the arrow should point to the main part (or top) of the furnace.