When is the best time to change air filters in your HVAC system? Well, when they’re dirty, of course. You should never run your air conditioner or heating system for long periods of time with a dirty filter. That layer of dirt, dust and hair will impede air flow, causing your system to work harder to achieve temperature set points. Parts will wear out quicker, necessitating repairs and replacement before you might need to schedule them otherwise.
But it’s also a good idea to incorporate changing air filters into your home maintenance routine. Adding the air filter change to your maintenance task list makes it less likely you’ll forget to do it. For instance, if you regularly perform spring or fall cleaning, you may want to make changing air filters one of your tasks.
Summer Filter Change
During our warm, humid summers, change the air filter frequently: every three months for good quality, dense filters, and once a month for low-quality fiberglass filters. A clean air filter not only helps your A/C run better, but also helps improve your indoor air quality. This is particularly important in summer, when you may be experiencing an elevated level of allergens in your home.
Pets that shed do so more in the summertime; that means more pet hair will be drawn into your air filter, so you’ll need to change your filter more often.
Further, the high humidity of summer will also increase in your home if you don’t change your air filter as needed. Dirty air filters slow air flow, which lowers the A/C’s ability to remove humidity successfully.
Also, be sure to change your filter at summer’s end, when you schedule your fall preventative maintenance appointment.
Winter Filter Change
Running your furnace in winter doesn’t involve as many issues with your filter as summertime use does, but don’t forget to change it regularly, as per manufacturer’s instructions. Also, be sure to change it in the spring when you schedule end-of-season maintenance.
For more on when to change air filters, contact Ace Hardware Home Services, serving Dayton and the surrounding area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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