Always replace your furnace filters within 90 days.

Where Is The Furnace Filter Located?

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Understanding how appliances and systems work in your home is vital for maintenance and longevity. When it comes to your furnace and the winter months you want to ensure that the furnace is maintained properly. Ensuring that you have heat in your home is very important for your comfort and safety. One of the areas of maintenance that can be done by a homeowner is changing out the furnace filter. Where is the furnace filter located? Typically they are located near the floor of the furnace. In a compartment with a side door that opens.

Let’s take a look below at more details regarding where your furnace filter is located.

What Is A Furnace?

Getting to know your furnace is important for your family’s safety during the winter months. A furnace is what will heat your home during cold days and nights. You will typically find your furnace in the basement, center of the home, or even in a utility closet. Depending on when the home was built and how it was designed will likely determine where it is installed. In some cases, a furnace is installed in an attic space or crawl space.

Where Is My Furnace Filter?

Identifying where your furnace filter is located is important for proper maintenance. Furnace filters are installed in the blower of your furnace unit. Where the blower location is, depends on how the furnace was installed. Let’s take a look at where the furnace filter might be located.

  • Horizontal HVAC unit – the furnace filter is located at the intake side of the unit and slides right into the rack.
  • Vertical HVAC unit with air moving downwards – the furnace filter is located at the top door where the upper blower is located. You will notice two air filters for the furnace or AC unit.
  • Vertical HVAC unit with air moving upwards – this furnace filter is located at the bottom door of the furnace. Since the blower is located at the bottom of the door, the filter will be there. Simply open up the door to replace the filter.
It is always important to change your furnace filter on a regular basis.

What If I Don’t Change The Filter?

When it comes to appliances in your home, the HVAC system which includes your furnace is no different. Making sure that the furnace is well maintained ensures that you have an operational unit when the time is needed. Let’s take a look at what happens if you do not change the filter.

  • Frozen cooling coil – without airflow in the HVAC unit, your cooling coils will freeze up.
  • The furnace can overheat – when airflow is not steady, the temperature of the furnace can increase. Since your furnace has a safety switch built-in the system will shut itself off if overheating occurs.
  • HVAC stops working – limited airflow due to a clogged furnace filter will trigger the safety switch to shut off and the system will stop running.
  • Short cycling will occur in the HVAC system – if the system has to work too hard to cool or heat the home, you will notice short cycling. This will cause the system to start and stop too often and you will lose energy efficiency.

How Much Does It Cost?

Replacing a furnace filter could be rather pricey. Comparatively speaking to a simple air filter, the furnace filter might be a bit more. Additionally, the price range will depend on the type of furnace, and the size of the furnace. You can count on a range of $10 to $50 per furnace filter.

Other Recommended Maintenance

Now that you know about the location of the furnace filter, there are other areas to maintain. One of those is if you notice the furnace is leaking water. If you see this happening, it could be due to a clogged line or a clogged part that keeps condensation from building up.

Next, since it is winter, you will probably be using your fireplace quite a bit to stay warm. Thus, you will want to make sure your chimney has a cap so that it protects against the outside elements. However, if you are missing a chimney cap, you will need to contact a fireplace installation company.

Lastly, you will want to make sure your stone fireplace is clean and you have protective gear, a bucket, a scrubbing sponge or brush, and a liquid solution. These are the first items that you need to accomplish this task.

Check your furnace filter to determine how dirty it is. Replace it right away if it looks like this.

When Do I Call A Professional?

When there is an issue with your furnace or HVAC system, immediately call a professional. Most homeowners are not capable of repairing their furnaces or HVAC systems due to various code requirements. If you aren’t sure who to call, reach out to your local home inspection team. They can inspect your HVAC system and furnace during a complete home inspection. Also, they can refer you to a reputable furnace or HVAC service technician.

Conclusion

Furnace filters should be replaced every 90 days or before. If you expect your HVAC system to work efficiently, you will want to replace the furnace filter as it collects dirt, debris, and pet hairs daily. Consequently, if you are looking to find out how efficiently your furnace is working or if you need to replace any parts, call on your local home inspection team. Reach out to Warren Inspections in Eastern and Central Massachusetts for an HVAC inspection and furnace inspection, along with a full home inspection.

A thermostat might be a great way to determine humidity affecting your air conditioner.

Does Humidity Affect Air Conditioning

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Owning a home requires a lot of maintenance and attention to detail. When it comes to your air conditioning, keeping up with the maintenance is a must. Consequently, you should consider reading up on the exact make and model of air conditioning that is associated with your home. This allows you to understand how to control the moisture conditions in your home. Does humidity affect air conditioning? Yes, if you have high humidity in your home, the air conditioner has to work harder.

Let’s take a look below at some more details regarding high humidity in your home.

What Causes High Humidity

Just like any other working appliance that uses electricity, humidity can definitely affect the way your air conditioning works. Let’s take look at how high humidity is caused in your air conditioner.

  • The Fan is left on – when the fan is left on, the air is still circulated even if the ac unit is off. Humidity levels will increase because the fan will actually be blowing all of the moisture that was just removed by your air conditioner back into the home.
  • Single speed – look to invest in an AC unit that offers variable speeds. When the system only has an on-and-off variable, the unit isn’t working as efficiently to remove humidity from the home. A set temperature controls the unit and tells it when to turn it on and off. This back and forth of on and off does not allow the system to properly remove the humidity.
  • Oversized unit – if the system is too big, it cannot balance controlling temperatures and humidity levels. The compressor turns on and off way too often. When this occurs the system never operates long enough to remove the excess moisture from the air. Installing a smaller ac unit will solve this issue.
  • Negative Air Pressure – negative air pressure is a result of poor ventilation. If the system is not set up properly, the negative air pressure will bring in more outside air. When your temperatures outside get into the more humid levels, your air conditioner will suck in the muggier air. At this point, changing the ventilation system is needed.

The other main reason for the high humidity is the unit is too old. As parts start to grow old they wear down. This prevents the unit from working as efficiently as possible. Maintain your system on a regular schedule so that this does not occur. Also, if you notice that temperatures and cooling have not been consistent, it might be time to repair or replace your ac unit.

Hire a professional to check the humidity in your home to determine if it is affecting your air conditioner.

How Does High Humidity Affect It

Believe it or not, high humidity can affect your air conditioner. If the humidity levels are excessive, the air conditioner will need to work harder. Keep in mind that if your air conditioner has to work extra hard, it does not have the capability of keeping up with your home’s cooling capacity needs. Also, if this occurs, you will likely never feel a cooler temperature in your home. Let’s take look at the common signs of high humidity inside the home.

  • Musty smells – too much humidity increases moisture and dampness in your home. Having dampness in the home will increase the possibility of mildew and mold growth.
  • Clammy or Moist air – your skin could feel clammy due to the increased moisture in the air.
  • Foggy windows – your windows could look like condensation is building up on them and creating a foggy look. When humidity becomes bottled up, it has nowhere to go but to stick to the walls and windows.

Other Recommended Maintenance

Now that you have an understanding of high humidity and how it can affect your air conditioner, you can create a solution to keep your system working properly. The main area that you should consider is what maintenance is needed to keep your system working correctly.

Next, if you are really concerned about moisture or humidity buildup, you might want to have your chimney cap checked out. If you have a fireplace and your chimney cap is damaged, wind and rain can enter your fireplace. This would create a larger moisture issue in your home. Also, if water gets into your chimney it could increase the dampness and humidity in your home.

Lastly, read up on when you can replace your HVAC system. If you are having major humidity issues with your air conditioner, it might be time to replace the HVAC unit. Make sure that you understand when it is time to replace, rather than repair your air conditioner.

Know when to replace your outdoor air handler.

When Do I Call A Professional

The moment that you are having an issue with your air conditioner, you will want to call on a professional. Hiring a professional HVAC service technician is key. Consequently, working on an air conditioner is not for homeowners. You must have a professional license in order to work on any HVAC equipment.

Also, if you aren’t sure who to call, reach out to your local home inspection team. They can inspect the entire HVAC system which includes the air conditioning. Additionally, they can recommend a reputable HVAC service technician.

Conclusion

Anytime that your air conditioner is having issues there could be a variety of reasons why. Hiring a professional HVAC service technician can help you determine what issues you might be having. Conducting proper maintenance on your air conditioning unit can save you a lot of money.

Reducing the humidity in your home can help keep the longevity of your air conditioning. Be sure to hire your local home inspection team to have your air conditioner inspected and the moisture levels in your home measured. Reach out to Warren Inspections in Eastern and Central Massachusetts for an HVAC inspection, along with a full home inspection.