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How to Change the Air Filter On Your Air Conditioner or Furnace

Friday, January 28th, 2022

So you’ve decided it’s time to change the air filter on your air conditioner or furnace. Good decision! The reality is, you should be changing this regularly, at least a couple times per year even in the mild climate of the Greater Seattle area.

But if you’ve never done it before, how do you change an air filter?

The good news is, it’s actually pretty simple in most cases. We’ll walk you through the basic process. However, if you still aren’t able to figure it out, you can always give us a call and we can try to talk you through it over the phone. Or if necessary, we can come out and help you in person.

Before we get to how to change it, let’s quickly address how you know it’s the right time to change the air filter on your air conditioner.

One good way to test this is to hang a white sheet about five inches away from one of your vents, and leave it there for an hour. If during that time the sheet turns noticeably gray, that’s a good sign your air filter is due for replacement. Also, if there’s a buildup of dust around your vents, no need to use the sheet because that’s also a clear sign your filter is probably clogged up.

And in case you’re wondering, here’s a post on why changing your air filter is so important, and how it protects your health, your wallet, and your comfort.

How to Change an Air Filter in 6 Steps

1. Find the Air Filter

This step might seem silly, but sometimes, especially in larger homes with multiple vents, ducts, and other HVAC equipment, finding the air filter can be a little challenging.

Generally, it will be in the main air handling unit or in the main air duct vent. It could be in the return air duct that pulls air from your home back into the HVAC systems. Or it could be near the air handler that blows out the warm or cool air. This is quite common if your heating and air conditioning systems share the same ducts, which is true in most households.

You probably will have to open up a metal panel on top of the unit if it’s in the actual device, and this might require some unscrewing. In other cases, the door may be held with hooks, or it might just open up with minimal effort.

2. Turn Off the Power

You can turn off the unit or just switch off the circuit breaker. But you want to make sure there is no chance of electricity still operating in the unit when you open it.

3. Remove the Current Air Filter

Next, once you find the air filter and turn off the power, you can remove the current air filter from its location.

When you do this, pay attention to the orientation of the air filter. There are usually arrows printed on the sides of it pointing in one direction, either toward where the air is blowing from, or away from it. You will want to insert the new air filter facing the same direction, so pay attention to the old one before you take it out.

4. Inspect the Current Air Filter to Decide on the Replacement

Once you remove the air filter, take a moment to look at it. It will probably be quite dirty, especially if you’ve never done this before or it’s been a while. Hold it up to the light. If you can’t see much light through it, it’s dirty.

Assuming you need to replace the air filter, you want to learn two things in your inspection:

  1. The size of the air filter that fits in your system
  2. The MERV rating

Air filters come in many sizes. Generally, you’re looking for a length and a width, and it should be printed somewhere on the filter. If you can’t find it, you can always just measure it yourself. To be sure, you can also just bring the filter into the hardware store and make sure the new one you buy is the same size.

MERV stands for minimum efficiency reporting value. The higher the MERV rating, the more effective the air filter is at filtering out particulates. Ratings above 10 are considered able to filter out microorganisms that can impact your health and air quality.

The lowest quality air filters are made of fiberglass. These cost less, but they don’t last as long and need to be replaced more often, like almost every month. Pleated air filters are higher quality and should last several months.

HEPA filters are the highest quality. However, these are so good that in some HVAC systems they can impede airflow so much that the system has to work really hard to heat or cool your home, increasing your costs and risking breakdown. So just going for the highest possible MERV is not necessarily the best idea.

If you’re in doubt, give us a call and we’ll try to help you out over the phone. In general, you should be okay with a MERV rating between 5 and 13.

5. Dispose of the Old Air Filter

Especially if it’s very dirty and filled with possible health hazards, it’s a good idea to slip the old air filter into a plastic bag and then throw it in your usual garbage can.

If you happen to have a reusable filter, then you’ll need to add a step here to clean it and wait for it to dry. Some reusable air filters can be washed with water. Others can be vacuumed. Check the instructions on yours to find out how to clean it.

6. Buy and Insert the New Air Filter

Then, go to the hardware store and pick out the new air filter of the right size and desired MERV rating. Or, order it online. But if you do that, be absolutely certain about the size. Going to the store is a less risky approach because you can compare the old filter to the new one right there.

To insert the new one, slip it in the same way the old one came out. Again, use the arrows on the side to make sure it’s facing the correct direction.

The arrows always face away from the return air duct, and toward the air handler system.  If that’s confusing and you aren’t sure if the original was installed right, give us a call and we will try to talk you through it.

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Why Is It Important to Change Air Filters on Air Conditioners and Furnaces?

Friday, January 14th, 2022

Clogged air filters are probably the leading cause of breakdown for air conditioners and HVAC systems. That’s the main reason why changing air filters is so important.

Air conditioners and heaters depend on airflow. With impeded airflow, the system doesn’t work as well, and problems arise. Here are four reasons why it’s so important to change your air filter, and what could happen if you don’t.

4 Reasons to Change the Air Filter on Your AC / Furnace

1. Changing the Air Filter Saves You Money

Yes, you have to pay for the air filter. But the more clogged your air filter gets, the harder your system has to work. That means it is using more energy to produce and push the same amount of cool or warm air. Using more energy means you pay more for the same benefit. That’s a bad deal.

And in case you’re wondering, the air filter does get used in both summer and winter because the same fan moves the air either way. The mechanism for producing the warm or cool air may be different, but the fan that moves it and the filter the air passes through is the same.

Changing the air filter also saves money because it extends the healthy life of your HVAC system. And as you can imagine, air conditioning and heating repairs cost a lot more than buying an air filter every few months.

2. Changing the Air Filter Improves Performance

As time goes by, air filters will get clogged by various types of debris. This makes it harder to produce the same amount of warm or cool air.

This means, especially in the extreme hot and cold months, a fresh air filter will help your home warm up and cool down faster than it otherwise would. If it seems like it’s taking longer to warm up or cool down your house lately, there’s a good chance your air filter is the main culprit.

And by the way, if you want us to come out and do a maintenance check, we can also show you where your air filter is and how to change it. Sometimes, it is a little tricky. Here’s a quick guide on how to change your air filter yourself.

3. Changing the Air Filter Improves Indoor Air Quality

There are all kinds of pollutants and particulates floating around inside and outside. A good air filter will capture many of these and thus improve your air quality. Especially if you have kids, elderly residents, or people with medical conditions such as asthma or allergies, pristine air quality is a must.

Consistent replacement of your air filter is a low cost way to make a big difference in your air quality.

A saturated air filter will struggle to corral things like dust, spores, pollen, pet dander, hair, and microorganisms. Plus, all that gunk can collect moisture and lead to mold growth. If the mold gets in your ducts and the inner workings of your HVAC system, now you’ve got a serious and much more costly problem, for your health and your pocketbook.

4. Changing the Air Filter Reduces Your Environmental Footprint

Because a clean air filter allows your air conditioner and furnace to work more efficiently at heating up and cooling down the house, you will use less energy and thus reduce the cost your HVAC system is putting on the environment – especially if you’re relying on gas or electric power.

What Happens If You Don’t Change Your Air Filter?

If you neglect to change your air filter frequently enough, a number of problems will begin to mount over time.

First, because your air conditioner and heater will have to work harder, this extra strain will increase the wear and tear on the system and can cause it to overheat and break down. Again, in our experience, clogged air filters are the number one cause of costly and expensive repairs for HVAC systems. Extending the useful life of your system saves thousands of dollars.

Also, very old air filters can start to break down themselves, and this may release fibers into the air handling system. These fibers can interfere with the functionality of the HVAC system and require expensive repair and maintenance.

And, as already mentioned, not changing your air filter will make your home take longer to heat up or cool down, increasing your costs for no extra benefit.

The health problems that can be caused by the buildup of mold are well-known, and if mold is infesting your HVAC system, then your family is breathing unhealthy air. You can prevent most or all of this simply by regularly changing your air filter.

One way to tell if it’s well past time to change your filter is if there’s a buildup of dust near your vents, including on furniture near the vents. If you see this, then your air filter is probably well past due for replacement.

How Often Should You Change Your Air Filter?

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to this. Energy Star recommends a minimum of changing your air filter every three months. Some experts recommend every month.

But really this depends on several factors, such as the type of air filter you use, and how often you use your air conditioner and heater.

In the mild climate of the Pacific Northwest and Snohomish and North King County, we have pretty temperate springs and falls, and many people don’t use their systems at all during those months. There would obviously be no reason to change the filter if it isn’t being used.

But in summer and winter, it probably gets pretty heavy use. So keep an eye on it, and don’t let it sit there unchanged for too long.

As for the type of air filter, lower quality fiberglass air filters need to be replaced more frequently than higher quality ones.

If you want a professional HVAC repair and maintenance technician to come take a look at your system or show you how to change your air filter, feel free to schedule an appointment, and Bob will come out to take a look.

We are often booked several months out, so if you suspect problems with your HVAC system, don’t wait too long to call us!

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Posted in AC service, Energy efficiency | 2 Comments »

7 Reasons Your Home Heater Is Blowing Cold Air & What To Do

Thursday, November 8th, 2018

Home Heater Blowing Cold Air? Here’s What It Could Mean

7 Possible Reasons Your Home Heater/Furnace Is Blowing Cold Air

A friend of ours bought a new house recently. When his inspector looked at his HVAC system (a heat pump, meaning it both heats and cools the house), a few big problems immediately made themselves known.

new homeowner's heater blowing cold air and ac was blowing warm airWhen he turned on the heater, the outdoor unit didn’t seem to be working right, but the indoor unit, an air handler, came on and seemed to heat the house. Though on closer inspection, the heat seemed pretty weak. When he turned on the air conditioner, warm air came out.

So, when the new homeowner called an HVAC specialist (not us, because he was outside our service area – click here and scroll down to see if you’re in it), he learned what was really happening.

A system error in the controls of the heat pump was forcing an automatic system shutdown just seconds after it started. That was tripping on the air handler, which was supposed to be only for emergency heat. Even more strange, the previous owners had rewired the system somehow so the air handler came on every time, even for air conditioning. Hence the hot air.

But the heat pump was also just very old, and repairing it would have cost nearly the same as just getting a new one, which is what they ended up doing.

Why tell this story? Because it illustrates just one of many reasons why a heater might blow cold air, and an air conditioner might blow hot air.

7 Reasons Your Heater Blows Cold Air/AC Blows Hot Air

There are many reasons an HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) system might stop working. But all you have to work with are the symptoms. The heater’s blowing cold, or the AC is blowing hot. Here are just a few things that could mean:

1) Dead Batteries in Thermostat

Seems silly, but you’d be surprised how often this has happened. You’re standing there pushing buttons trying to heat up the house, but it’s just not working. You can hear it blowing, but no heat is coming out. Sometimes this happens simply because your batteries have died. (This problem depends in part on the type of thermostat, of course).

It’s also possible you have it on the wrong setting, such as ‘fan’ as opposed to ‘heat’. Again, this depends on your specific type of thermostat.

2) Clogged Air Filter

filthy clogged air filters are one possible reason your heater is blowing cold air
For a heat pump or heater to produce warm air, air must flow easily through the filter. Otherwise it has to work a lot harder just to pull the air, which means you’ll get less warm air coming out than you should. Likewise for the air conditioner. The harder it has to work to pull air through the filter, the less efficient it will be.

If energy efficiency is as important to you as heating or cooling your house, making sure you have a clean air filter is a critical troubleshooting and maintenance step.

3) Interrupted Startup Sequence

This was part of the problem our friend was dealing with. His heat pump was starting up and then shutting off immediately, and the emergency heat was taking over. When he had a professional look into why this was happening, he learned it would be an expensive repair job on an outdated heat pump.

4) Improper Installation

The previous owners in our friend’s house probably realized their heat pump was failing, so they rewired the system in a convoluted way to get around the problem, rather than deal with it properly. Their improper installation thus led to the air conditioner blowing hot air.
an improper installation led to this ac blowing warm air

5) Dead Circuit Board

Maybe it got shorted out. Maybe it just died of old age or malfunction. But a dead circuit board ends your furnace’s attempt to heat your house real quick.

6) Worn Down or Busted Motors

Motors that turn the fans and make the conversion process from warm to cold (or cold to warm) work right can get old and rusty, or break down for other reasons. If that happens, your heater (or AC) will not produce the temperature of air you want it to.

If you hear that irritating screeching sound when your system turns on, this could be the reason (though it’s not the only reason that happens).

7) Damaged Ducts

It could be that your heater is working just fine. If your ducts have cracks or worse, then the cold air blowing into your house might be coming straight from outside right into your ducts, mixed in with the warm air your perfectly functional furnace is producing.

What Can I Do If My Heater Is Blowing Cold Air?

You’ve got three basic options.

three options for what to do if your heater is blowing cold air
First – make it worse. That’s what our friend’s former homeowners appear to have done. They worked around a failed heat pump by making the emergency heat the main heat. This rendered the AC useless. And, it increased their heating costs a ton, because the air handler is a far more expensive way to heat a house than the much more efficient heat pump.

Second – test out the simple explanations. Check the air filter. Check the thermostat. You might even try turning your circuit breaker off and back on. These simple fixes might solve the problem, saving you lots of trouble, frustration, and expense.

Third – hire a professional. If your heater is blowing cold air, and it’s not one of the first two possible explanations on this list, then you’ll need a specialist to at least come and take a look. You might be able to tell if your ducts have a leak, but fixing them is another issue.

The last five items on the list above require a professional or a new furnace or heat pump to fix them.

If you need a professional and you live in our service area, we’d love to help.

Click the link below, scroll down to see if you’re in our service area, and if you are, tell us what’s going on with your HVAC system.

Help Fix My Heater/Heat Pump

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How to Save on Your Heating Bill

Friday, June 29th, 2018

How to Save on Your Heating Bill without Having to Crawl Around Under Your House

10 Simple Energy Efficiency Tips That Pay for Themselves in Weeks (7 Are Totally Free)

fireplace and HVAC energy efficiency saves money and helps environment

There’s big money to be saved on your heating bill this winter just by improving your energy efficiency. The problem is, you probably don’t have time or interest in unrolling messy insulation or crawling around under your house or in your attic.

The good news is, there are a ton of super-easy steps you can take to keep more heat in your home, and produce heat more efficiently.

Each of the energy efficiency tips you’re about to see are either free, or will pay for themselves this winter, not five years from now.

10 Energy Efficient Ways to Save on Your Heating Bill This Winter

1. “Do You Feel a Draft?” Check Your Windows

You can feel it, but you can’t find it. That slight cold breeze that’s biting into your winter comfort, as well as your heating bill.

It’s most likely coming from your windows or doors. According to Popular Mechanics, 7-12% of heat loss happens through your doors and windows.

A couple simple steps you can take to prevent heat loss through your windows:

• Keep them closed and locked in the winter. Just by locking them, you close the gap that air can seep through.

Cost: Free

• Put fresh caulking around them to renew the seals.

Cost: Under $10

2. Do You See the Light? That’s a Bad Sign

air escaping under your door hurts energy efficiency no matter how good your heater is

If there’s sunlight visible under or around your doors, that’s a ‘green light’ for hot air to gleefully escape your home and drive up your heating bill.

Two ways to slash your heat loss through your doors:

• Put weatherstripping around the door. This makes a huge difference, and also keeps bugs out.

Cost: Varies depending on type – from $20 to $100 per door

• Increase the height of your door’s threshold.

Cost: Free, or under $25 if replacing it

If there’s light under or around your door, these two changes will reduce the strain on your heating system, because all that warm air it’s working hard to produce will now be staying in the house.

3. Check Your Attic Access Door

Ever go up in your attic during a cold month, and wonder why it’s nice and toasty up there where no one is? This is a sign that your attic door isn’t sealing well and is allowing heat to escape, just like your other doors.

But unlike your other doors, heat rises, so the attic door’s cost on your heating bill can be even greater. Keep the door firmly closed and sealed, and if necessary, consider adding some insulation (just a small amount – it’s only a door!) or other barriers above the door to keep the heat in.

Cost: Free to Very Cheap

4. It’s ‘Curtains’ for Your Heating Bill

open curtains in day in winter and close at night to save on heating bill

Again – windows are a major source of heat loss. Even with good seals, heat still escapes through them. But in the day, sunlight can come through windows and warm up your house, even in the winter.

So, open your curtains!

In the day, keep them open and let the sun warm up your interiors. At night, close them so you trap a little more heat in the house.

Cost: Free

5. Keep Your Vents Clear

If you have forced-air heating especially, don’t make your furnace or heat pump work harder than it needs to. That’s wasted efficiency.

Keep couches, chairs, low tables, and desks away from your vents so warm air can flow freely and more quickly heat up the home.

Also, putting certain kinds of materials too close to heating vents (and especially floorboard heaters) is a fire hazard. So you shouldn’t have anything too close to your vents anyway.

Cost: Free

6. Don’t Heat an Empty House

If no one’s there, why heat the home? Coming home to a cold house is a small price to pay for a huge savings in your heating bill.

Cost: Free

7. Use Programmable Thermostats

Programmable thermostats make the empty house problem easy to solve without sacrificing comfort, because you can schedule them to come on 15 minutes before you get home or wake up.

And today, there are ‘smart’ thermostats that learn your rhythms and manage your temperatures without you having to do anything. These do cost more though, so the savings take longer to recover, and some systems are not compatible with smart thermostats.

Cost: Under $40 (around $350 – $450 for ‘smart’ thermostats)

8. Dress Warmer

dressing warmer reduces need to heat house and saves money on heating bill

If you don’t want to wear four layers of clothing, big blankets can be very comfortable throughout the day. And more blankets on your bed can accomplish the same thing at night. But just dressing warmer allows you to lower the temperature in your home and still be comfortable.

You will save about 3% on your heating bill for every degree you can lower the temperature on your thermostat. That adds up fast. The difference between a 72 degree home and a 65 degree home will save you a lot of money.

Cozy is the new cheap.

Cost: Free

9. Change Your Air Filter

Some people pat themselves on the back for installing furnaces (or ACs) with high energy efficiency ratings. And you should be pleased – that’s a great decision to make.

But, if you don’t clean or change out your air filter regularly, you’re literally blowing away all the benefits of your higher efficiency unit. A dirty filter makes the furnace or heat pump have to work a lot harder to produce the same amount of warm air required to heat your home.

So, change out your air filter, or clean it if it’s not too bad, and your heater will operate at the level of energy efficiency you expect it to. B&C changes out air filters as part of our regular furnace maintenance service.

Cost of new filter: Varies by size and type – $20 – $80

10. Do a Maintenance Update

Whether it’s your gas fireplace or your furnace, regular maintenance improves your energy efficiency and saves you money.

For fireplaces, when soot and other buildup starts clogging gas flow and reducing the efficiency of the burner, it takes longer to heat up the room because the fireplace has to work harder and the flame is weaker. That means more cost to you – if your goal is to heat your home with your fireplace. If your gas fireplace is built mainly for decoration, then the efficiency question doesn’t really apply to you here.

Learn more about gas fireplace maintenance

For furnaces, faulty components, rusty startup controls, dirty air filters, and parts that have lost lubrication make the unit work harder to produce the same amount of warm air. Lack of maintenance also just reduces the operational life of the unit, so this makes sense from an energy efficiency standpoint as well as a practical one.

Learn more about HVAC maintenance

B&C Comfort is one of the only fireplace repair and maintenance providers in the South Snohomish County and East King County areas.

We’re usually booked out several months, so if you want to tune up your fireplace or your furnace before winter, SUMMER is the time to get on our schedule.

Schedule a fireplace or maintenance appointment today

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