When and How to Change Your Furnace Filter

Caring for your furnace can go a long way in the months in between furnace service appointments. One of the simplest, and critical, ways to take care of your furnace is in changing your furnace filter. Having a clogged air filter can contribute to a host of adverse issues for your heating and cooling system, its efficiency, and ultimately, how much you’re spending on your energy bills each month.

So what goes in to determining 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 ought to be swapped out 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 change your filter more often as a result of pet dander. If someone in your family suffers from allergies or asthma, think about changing your home’s air filter more frequently to help ease their symptoms.

Now you’re probably wondering how to change your furnace filter. Inevitably this will change depending on what furnace you have, but usually: 

• Open or take 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 will find your furnace filter resting on two metal supports.
• 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 pull 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 most cases, the arrow should point to the main part (or top) of the furnace.