Do you know how to change the air filter in your home? Maintaining a clean air filter is essential for reducing energy costs, improving indoor air quality, and preventing mold or bacteria from growing in the air system. Victor Belavus, an air conditioning specialist and owner of 212 HVAC, provides a step-by-step guide on how to replace an air filter. Before changing a household air filter in the HVAC unit, turn off the unit to prevent injury or damage to the machine. Most filters are printed with an arrow that indicates the air flow of the oven filter.
Place the filter with an arrow pointing towards the oven, in the direction of the air flow. Open the return cover and remove the old filter. Then replace it with a new one of the appropriate size for the opening, making sure to orient it so that the air flow arrow points towards the duct network. If you don't have the unit's instruction manual, most air filters are located in the oven fan compartment (remove the oven cover, usually by lifting it up) or embedded in the metal ducts before the fan.
If you find an air filter that doesn't have an arrow, check it again, since almost all filters have it. HVAC experts recommend changing indoor air filters once every three months, more often if you have pets. More expensive filters perform the same function and can also improve your home's air quality by trapping bacteria, pollen, mold and mold spores. There are limits to what passive filtration can do, so active air purification systems are more effective in addressing indoor air quality.Changing an oven filter is perhaps the quickest and easiest way to maximize the efficiency of your heating system and help purify the air in your home.
Before removing the existing air filter, notice the arrow on the filter frame that shows the correct direction of air flow. The next time you change the filter, match the directions of the arrows and that's it, you've changed the air filter correctly. No matter what air conditioning system you have, each unit needs a quality filter that is properly adjusted to keep indoor air quality clean and your unit operating at peak efficiency.