How Often Should I Really Replace My Filter?
Regularly changing your air filter is one of the most important things you can do to take good care of your HVAC system. It is essential to switch your air filter regularly to keep your indoor air quality at its best. Having a clean filter keeps everything working properly and helps keep your energy bills low. How often you should change your HVAC filter is dependent on the type of material and the efficiency of the filter you select.
Replacing Your Air Filter Based on Material
The most significant factor when determining how often you change your air filter is the type of filter you use. There are two main types of filters to choose from: fiberglass air filters and pleated air filters.
If you have a fiberglass air filter, you need to change it every thirty or fewer days. Fiberglass filters are a low-cost, disposable solution. Pleated air filters need to be replaced within ninety days depending on the season. Pleated air filters are also disposable but have better efficiency than fiberglass and will last longer.
Other Factors Impacting When You Need to Change Your Air Filter
Time of year: During peak summer and winter months, your air filter that typically lasts 90 days needs to be changed every 30 days. This time of year, your HVAC system is operating at its highest capacity, meaning it needs maximum efficiency to continue running successfully. During the more mild seasons like spring and fall, your system will run less frequently, meaning your filter will not get dirty as fast and can be changed less.
Size of your home: A larger home usually needs more frequent filter changes as your HVAC system must work harder for fluctuations in temperature. In smaller homes, the HVAC system moves less air, meaning less frequent air filter replacements. However, in some cases, smaller homes have smaller HVAC units. In this case, the filter should be changed as often as it would in a larger home.
Your Geographic Location: Where you live affects how often you use your HVAC system throughout the day. You can extend the life of your filter to add a few extra months if you are using your system for less than five hours a day.
Children and pets: Families with kids should change their filters every 60 to 90 days to ensure your family is safe from potentially harmful air particles like germs. Pets release hair and dander into the air and track dirt and contaminants outside your home. Those with pets should change their filter every 60 days for one pet and every 30 days for two.
Allergies: If those in your home suffer from allergies, you must change your air filter more often. It should be changed every 30 to 45 days to reduce your symptoms and allow you to breathe more easily.
Air Quality: If your area has poor air quality, you will need to replace your air filters more often as it becomes dirtier. Contaminants like dust, debris, and smoke will seep inside your home and clog your air filter faster.
Visual Inspection
The only way to be positive about how often your air filter should be changed is through a visual inspection of your air filter every month. After a few months of regularly checking it, you should know how quickly it becomes dirty and how often you should change it. The best way to inspect an air filter is to hold it up to a light source. If the light does not shine through the filter, it is clogged and must be replaced.
Importance of Replacing Your Filter
Your HVAC filter keeps the air you breathe inside your home clean by trapping particles like dust, pollen, and other contaminants that move through the system. In order to have the best possible indoor air quality, this filter must be changed regularly depending on the factors discussed above. For help in determining how often you should replace your filter, contact us at Jordan Air and Plumbing, and when it is time for it to be replaced, we will come out and perform the HVAC maintenance for you.
Jordan Air and Plumbing
1165 Athens Rd
Athens, GA 30630
(706) 769-0661
https://www.jordanairinc.com/
