Replacing your furnace’s filter regularly is one of the most crucial steps in ensuring effective heating performance and preventing unnecessary increases in your energy bills. HVAC manufacturers recommend replacing filters every 90 days. However, this is a general recommendation that doesn’t apply to every situation. There may be times when you can go for longer than three months before the filter starts to clog. There may also be times when a filter could get clogged and need to be replaced after only a month or two. In this article, we’ll give you some tips on how you can tell when you need to replace your furnace filter. We will also look at the reasons why replacing the filter and using the right filter are so important.
How to Know When to Replace a Furnace Filter
The best way to know if you should replace a furnace filter is to take it out and inspect it, which is something we recommend doing at least monthly. You can tell how dirty a disposable pleated filter is just by its color. The pleated filter material will start turning brown or black once it’s fairly full of dust and debris, which is a good indication that you should replace it. If you have pets in the home, the face of the filter can get coated with pet hair fairly quickly. You can often get a bit more life out of a filter by gently cleaning off the pet hair every few weeks. However, you should still replace it once it has started turning dark.
Monitoring the performance of your furnace and heating system can also help you determine when the filter is starting to clog. Specifically, you should watch for issues with weaker airflow coming out of your vents, as weak airflow is most commonly related to a clogged filter. If you replace the filter and the airflow is still weak, you should call for a professional inspection. In this case, there’s likely a problem with the furnace blower. Dirty ducts or duct leaks can lead to weak airflow as well.
If you have both central heating and air conditioning, you need to regularly replace the filter throughout the year since it works for both parts of your HVAC system. In Florida, you’ll usually need to replace the filter more often during the summer months as a result of how much your air conditioning has to run.
The Importance of Regular Filter Replacements
Ensuring there is always sufficient air coming into a furnace is crucial for keeping it performing effectively. Not replacing a furnace filter as often as you should is a major concern in this regard. Dirty filters are restrictive, meaning it’s harder to draw air through them. If you run your furnace with an overly dirty filter, it won’t receive as much air as it needs to heat your house quickly and effectively. That also means it won’t function as efficiently, resulting in your energy bills increasing.
The bigger concern is that a dirty filter results puts added strain on the blower and other components. This can lead to a breakdown or cause the blower motor to wear out sooner. A clogged filter also greatly increases the chances of the furnace overheating. Frequent overheating can result in the heat exchanger cracking, in which case the furnace then needs to be replaced. Even a small crack in the heat exchanger makes a furnace unsafe to use. That is because it allows carbon monoxide to escape, mix with the hot air and then get blown throughout the house.
Even if a dirty filter doesn’t result in a furnace overheating, continually going too long between filter replacements will usually shorten the furnace’s life. A properly maintained furnace in Florida can last for 15-20 years or sometimes even more. If you don’t replace the filter often enough and don’t have your heating system professionally serviced and inspected every year, you may need to replace your furnace in as little as 10 years.
How to Choose the Right Furnace Filter
Using the right filter is also important both for protecting your HVAC system and avoiding issues with decreased performance and efficiency. MERV ratings are the standard most manufacturers use to express how efficiently air filters perform. These ratings are based on the percentage of particles of varying sizes that a filter can trap. Filters with lower MERV are somewhat effective at trapping dust and other larger particles, but the majority of smaller particles just pass straight through unimpeded.
A filter with a higher MERV rating will provide better protection for your HVAC system by reducing the amount of dust and debris that gets sucked into the furnace and air handler. Higher MERV filters also work better at filtering out pollen, mold spores and other allergens, which is helpful if anyone in the home suffers from allergies or has asthma.
The only thing you should be aware of is that not all HVAC systems are powerful enough to work with higher MERV filters. A filter that is too efficient will restrict the airflow and lead to the same issues that arise if you go too long without replacing the filter. You should also be aware that filters with higher MERV ratings clog faster and usually need to be replaced more frequently due to them working more effectively.
For residential HVAC systems, we recommend using at least a MERV 6 filter and not trying to go any higher than MERV 11 or 12. Depending on the age and condition of your HVAC system, you may not want to go higher than MERV 10 or possibly even MERV 8. You’ll be able to tell quickly if a new filter is too efficient for your HVAC system. This is because it will result in less air coming out of your vents and the system not working as well.
If you’re concerned about indoor air quality issues in your home and you want to achieve a higher level of filtration, you should upgrade to a media filter. Standard filters are only 1 inch thick, whereas media filters range between 4 and 6 inches thick. That means they contain much more pleated filter material, which allows them to filter the air more efficiently with minimal airflow resistance. The fact that they contain more material also means they don’t clog as quickly and don’t need to be replaced as often. In most cases, you only need to replace a media filter once or twice a year.
Call Us Today
At Reliance Air Services, we offer comprehensive HVAC services in Sarasota and the surrounding areas of Southwest Florida. Our experienced technicians are ready to assist with your furnace maintenance and repair needs and can work on all types of furnaces from every manufacturer. We also offer expert indoor air quality services and can help if you want to upgrade to a media filter or a whole-home air purification system. We provide same-day services, upfront pricing and are available 24/7 for heating and cooling emergencies. If you’re not sure what filter is best for your furnace or need to schedule any cooling or heating service for your home, contact us today.
