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Home::Home Accessories
How Often Should You Change Your Furnace Filter
Author : Donald Munn
There are some very important things that you should do to
extend the life of your air conditioner and keep it working at
peak efficiency at all times. One of the most important things
that you can do is change your air conditioner or furnace filter
every three to six months.
Every home is different and there are many factors that effect
how long you should wait between filter changes. Wait too long
and the efficiency of the equipment will deteriorate and
operating costs go up. Change your filter too often and it's
like throwing money away. Considering the cost of some filters
that could add up to a lot of money over time.
It is important to keep in mind that the more efficient your air
conditioner filter is the more often it will have to be cleaned
or replaced. For most people pleated filters will do an adequate
job. These filters are ten to sixty percent efficient and some
manufacturers claim even higher efficiencies.
Pleated filters should be changed every three to six months. If
you live in an area with lots of dust then you should probably
change your filter about every three months.
If you require more efficient air filtration you may want an
electrostatic, electronic or even a HEPA filter. The more
efficient the filter is the more often it will have to be
cleaned or replaced
Electrostatic filters probably offer the best combination of
value and efficiency. You will pay between two to six times what
a good quality disposable filter would cost but you just wash
them with water when they become dirty and reuse them.
Electronic filters will never become dirty enough to effect
airflow. They just become inefficient and there ability to
remove dust from the air deteriorates as they become dirty. To
clean these filters you have to remove the electronic cells and
soak them in some like HVAC cleaner and then rinse them and let
them dry.
HEPA filters are the most efficient filters available and become
plugged very quickly. They need to be checked monthly and often
cause too much restriction to airflow to be used at all. An air
conditioner contractor will be able to tell you if it is worth
trying one of these in your system.
If you are using economy panel filters from your local hardware
store and getting a pack of four for five or ten dollars, you
are not doing yourself, your family or your air conditioning
equipment any favours. When it comes to rating filters, these
are at the bottom of the list.
These filters do such a poor job you could leave one in your air
conditioner for a year and it would not collect enough dust to
require changing. The unfortunate thing is the evaporator coil
of your air conditioner would need to be cleaned every year to
remove the dirt that should have been stopped by the filter.
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