This might be hard to hear, but most people aren’t changing their air filter nearly enough. Luckily, Mission AC is here to help you take care of your HVAC system. Let’s talk about how often you should change your air filters and why.
Your Home’s Filters
How often you change your air filters depends mainly on two things: how dirty/dusty the air in your home is and the type of filter you use. Based on these things, you can find the right filter-changing schedule for your home.
Let’s start with the many filter options out there. Find your filter type on the list below and see if you’ve been changing your filter enough:
- Standard 1″ Filters: at least once per month
- 4-5″ Media Filter: every three to six months
- Electronic Air Cleaners: every three to six months
These time tables are generic, so they can change depending on other factors. For example, ff you have lots of pets (especially big dogs), you probably need to change your filters more often. More debris/dust/dirt = changing the filters more often.
Why even change the Filter on your HVAC system?
You might be thinking this is overkill and that your AC system has been “working fine” without changing the filters this often, but changing your filters isn’t just some conspiracy to make you spend more money.
Filters are designed to protect your HVAC system and keep it clean (see video). The cleaner the system is kept, the less likely it is to fail or operate inefficiently. Air conditioners are designed to transfer heat, so if the evaporator coil becomes coated with dirt/fur/debris it will inevitably have to work harder to do its job. This would be like trying to cool off while wearing a sweatsuit.
Having a dirty evaporator coil and filter will also put additional pressure on other components like the motors, capacitors, compressor and more. If all of these components work longer and more often, then of course the likelihood that they will fail goes up.
Most air conditioners can handle some beating. We go into homes every day that should have cleaner filters. However, the mentality that “it seems to be fine” falls short and will catch up to us. Maybe not today, but eventually… and it will probably be at a very inconvenient time.
Tips for Changing Your AC Filters
Sometimes, we just forget to change the filters. Here are some tips to help you change your filters on time.
- Amazon Prime: Use the “subscribe and save” function. They will send you filters at whatever interval you like. Replace when they arrive.
- Siri: Ask Siri to remind you every month (or other intervals) to change them.
- Mission Maintenance: Enroll in ongoing system maintenance from Mission AC. We’ll change them for you.
To enroll in ongoing maintenance with Mission AC, contact us today.
