Regular air filter replacement can help reduce your energy bill by up to 15%, protect your HVAC system from unfiltered air, and make it last longer. But how often should you change your household air filter? In general, most air filter manufacturers and HVAC companies recommend changing your air filter every 90 days or 3 months. However, this may change depending on the location of your home, if you have pets, and the age of your system and equipment. If you have pets in the house, you should consider changing the filter every 60 days or 2 months.
For households with multiple pets or people with allergies or respiratory conditions, we recommend changing the filter every 20-45 days. Vacation homes or vacant homes that don't have much use can expect to change filters every 9-12 months. It's also helpful to know when to change your air conditioner filter. According to ENERGY STAR, you should check and change your air conditioner filter every month during peak season. If you decide to do it yourself, your best option is to ask your HVAC service technician for help.
They can show you where the filter is located, how to remove the old filter and insert the new one, and how to get the right filters for your system. When it comes to choosing the right filters for your home, you may want filters that do more than just keep dust out of the air conditioner. If you want to improve the air quality in your space by eliminating pollen, mold, and other harmful contaminants, you should invest in HEPA filters with a MERV rating of 10 or higher. This is important because the concentration of air pollutants inside your home can be two to five times higher than the concentrations normally found outdoors. When the air conditioning filter becomes clogged, dust and dirt begin to enter the air conditioner itself, causing wear on parts. As air moves through a building's HVAC system, air filters trap and pick up large and small particles, such as dust, allergens and microorganisms.
We also estimate annual costs for replacement filters, based on the manufacturer's recommendation for when to change them. In general, filters with a MERV rating 16 or lower are considered HVAC system grade filters for residential, commercial, and general hospital use. If your heating and air conditioning systems share the same ducts, it is also possible that the air cleaner for both systems is located in or near the furnace blower system. When in doubt, the simplest solution is to ask your HVAC technician to provide you with the correct filters or show you filter size information so you can order them yourself. According to the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), this filtration helps provide healthier indoor air quality. It's important to note that there are high-efficiency filters that are designed to filter out small particles of bacteria, mold and mildew, but your standard MERV 8-11 filters will simply block out larger particles of dust, dirt & hair.