Replacing your air filter every few months can seem like a hassle, but it’s vital. Air filter replacement ensures you enjoy efficient heating and cooling all year round. Here is everything you need to know about the air filter replacement process.
How Often to Do It?
The frequency of air filter replacement varies based on several factors. This interval typically ranges from one month to one year. One of the primary things to consider when determining the changing frequency is the size and efficiency of the air filter. If your air filter has a depth of one to two inches, you’d have to change it every three months.
Meanwhile, if the air filter has a thickness of three to four inches, you’d have to replace the air filter every six to nine months. You must replace five and six-inch filters every nine to twelve months. However, the depth of the air filter is not the only thing that should be factored in.
Things That May Effect Frequency of Air Filter Replacement
While efficiency and size are two of the most important considerations, you also need to account for other factors while determining how often to replace your air filter.
Multiple Occupants
Homes with a higher number of occupants need to replace their air filters more frequently than homes with fewer people. More people bring more contaminants inside with them, which could increase the number of pollutants in your house. Your filter must work harder to trap and block these particles and keep your home safe.
Pets
If you own furry pets that shed, then your air filter might have a lot of work cut out for it. The pet dander can be circulated in your house with your HVAC’s airflow, forcing the air filter to deal with the fur volume. Because of the additional workload, their life span could dwindle by about 30 days. The pet dander could demand more frequent furnace filter replacement.
Indoor Air Quality
If the air quality of your home is poor, your air filter won’t last as expected without air purifiers. Cleaners can work in tandem with air filters to trap toxic particles and keep your home clean. They can reduce the volume of contaminants, so your air filter doesn’t have to work overtime to capture those. If you don’t have an air purifier, the filter can fill up fast, forcing you to replace it more often than usual.
Usage of HVAC
If you use your heating or cooling unit more than normal, your air filter will capture harmful particles quicker and get clogged. The more you use the HVAC unit, the more often you’d have to change the air filter. Based on usage, you can determine how frequently you have to replace the air filter and buy the filters accordingly.
What Happens When You Don’t Change the Air Filter
Not replacing your air filter regularly can have several adverse effects. Not only can your HVAC system get damaged, but it can also result in poor air quality and comfort levels. The untamed contaminated air in the HVAC system can wreck various components of it. The more the particles accumulate, the worse the performance of your HVAC unit. The airflow blockage this can cause may lead to spiked temperatures in the unit, resulting in overheating.
The indoor air quality of your home also takes a hit. The airflow can become restricted if you forget to replace the air filter. This will prevent proper heating and cooling in your house, and the comfort level will drop. If the air filter is maxed out, contaminants trying to pass through won’t get trapped and will continue circulating in your house. This could trigger allergies, respiratory issues, body irritation, and dust accumulation.
Bottom Line
Whether you like it or not, you must regularly replace your air filter. To make things easier, you can learn how to do it yourself and stock up on replacements. This way, you won’t have to shop every other month for air filters or call professionals to get it done.
If you want to know how to change an air filter, you can call up a professional and get the hang of how things are done. Better yet, you can sign up for maintenance plans with air filter and HVAC companies to receive regular replacement services.
