You change the oil in your car. You wash it. You keep up the maintenance. You do those things, because they’ll keep the car running longer. You should be doing the same sort of things for your air conditioner. So, have you ever asked yourself, “How often should I change my A/C filter?”
If you did, and couldn’t find an answer, we’re here to help.
So…How Often Should I Change My A/C Filter?
The quickest answer is, “It depends.” Which is, as answers go, pretty unsatisfying.
Before we go more in depth on that, let’s discuss what exactly the air filter does for your air conditioner.
Your air conditioner sucks air out of your house, drags the heat out of it, blow that now much cooler air back into your house, and spits the heat outside. It’s a basic cycle we’ve perfected over the last hundred years or so. The problem with that cycle is air impurity. You can’t often see it with the naked eye, but air is rarely empty. There’s bacteria, dust, pollen, mold spores, plant debris, and all sort of other gunk rolling around in the atmosphere. When your air conditioner pulls the air into the system that junk comes along.
These pollutants then do one of two things. They either get caught on the coils or spewed back into the house with the now cooled air. Neither is good.
Dirty Coils = Operating Inefficiency
The heat transfer coils inside your air conditioner are critical. They need to be able to transfer heat efficiently and cleanly. Any dirt, dust, or debris that builds up on those coils will affect how effectively your air conditioner runs. The more dirt, the lower the efficiency. If you run dirty cools for long enough, then you are headed for a mechanical breakdown, my friend.
And those are never cheap.
The a/c filter’s main job is to protect your coils. Fewer foreign particles making it through the filter means less build up on your coil, and that is a very good thing. Of course, you still don’t know how often you should change your a/c filter, so let’s hit that next.
2 Weeks Minimum, 3 Months Maximum
Some people should change their coils every 2 weeks to a month. Others can get by with doing it every 2 or 3 months. How do you know where you fit?
It’s not that hard to figure out. If you have a lot of people or pets living in your house, you’re going to need to change the filter more regularly. If you’re a single person who works long hours and travels a lot for business, you can get by changing the filter more frequently.
There is a good rule of thumb you can use to judge though. Take out a filter you’ve been using for a while. Can you see through the mesh? No? Change it. If it’s not that dirty, it can go a little longer.
But, hey, don’t just take our word for it. Insurance company Allstate would also like for you to change your a/c filter on a more regular basis.
Of course, you can trust them.
They’re an insurance company.
