When and How to Change Your Furnace Filter

Caring for your furnace can help more than you’d think in the period in between furnace service appointments. One of the easiest, and essential, ways to maintain your furnace is in replacing your furnace filter. Having a clogged air filter may contribute to a number of negative issues for your heating and cooling system, its efficiency, and ultimately, how much your energy expenses are month after month.

So what goes in to deciding 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 switched out every month and 3 inch filters ought to be replaced every three months, depending on the recommendations of the filter manufacturer.
• Home habits: if you have pets in your home, it could make sense to switch out your filter more often because of pet dander. If you have someone in the house that has allergies or asthma, think about switching out your home’s air filter more often to help with their symptoms.

Now you’re probably wondering how to replace your furnace filter. More than likely, this will differ depending on what furnace you have, but typically: 

• Open or pull 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’ll see your furnace filter resting on two metal brackets.
• 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 pull it out of the compartment.
• When installing the new filter, look at 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 right direction. In most cases, the arrow should point to the main part (or top) of the furnace.