How Many Air Filters Does A House Have?

If you’re a homeowner, it’s always a good idea to have a good understanding of where exactly in your property your air filters are and how many your house has. Different houses and different HVAC units are going to require a different amount of filters. Some homes even have more than one HVAC unit or there may be filters behind the air returns in each room.

Why You Should Know Where They Are

To be able to replace your air filters, you need to know where to locate them and which way to put the filters in. New filters help prolong the life of your HVAC system and keep it working as efficiently as it should be, along with improving the general air quality within your home.

If you fail to locate your filters or don’t see the importance in regularly changing them out, then you’re setting yourself up to experience problems with your unit down the line.

Dirty air filters cause your air filtration unit to work a lot harder as it’s more difficult to circulate the air flow through the filter full of dust and debris. In turn, this is going to cause you to have to spend more money on your energy bills, and it can also actually lead to major issues occurring with your overall unit itself. Then, you’ll be having to pay for costly repairs and replacements that could’ve easily been avoided.

Part of being a homeowner is knowing how to effectively and efficiently look after your house, and your air filters play a massive part in that. Lucky for you, we’re here to help you get started finding your air filters without going through a rough ordeal.

Finding Your Home Air Filters

Before setting off on your search, you first need to keep in mind that each HVAC unit is different and so different models will have need for several air filters in one single house. This is usually the case with bigger units, as there’s a larger amount of space to circulate the air around.

It’s likely that your air filter is located next to your furnace unit or air conditioning system air handler. The air handler is the component of the unit that contains the fan and its motor. It pulls the air in through the ‘return’ air duct to heat it, only to then blow it back out the duct. As this is where the air enters the air unit to be cooled or heated, the air filter is usually located where the return duct enters the air handler to catch any pollutants. It’s a good idea to look for the air handler and use it as your guide – you’ll usually be able to find the filter pretty close by.

Where To Look

You need to find the air handler first, though, and that can take a bit of time if you’re not sure where to look.

More and more often, air handlers are being installed in attics because it allows the homeowners to keep the units tucked out of the way and save space. Though, sometimes this limits the installation so that the air filter needs to be put in the return, which can then be removed by opening a grate covering the duct.

If you don’t have an attic, your unit may be installed in the basement, or it may even take the form of a mounted wall system. In either case, check the air handler and the return to find the air filter.

It’s now rather uncommon to see households with multiple returns in a house with an air filter installed in each return, so that likely won’t be the case but check to make sure.

However, a lot of houses do have more than one HVAC unit, which means they’ll be at least one air filter per unit that you need to be able to locate. This means that, while one unit may have the air filter installed in the return, another might have the air filter installed in the air handler, so you need to thoroughly check and make a note of the locations for future reference.

Finding and replacing your air filters is so much easier when you know where to look and what to expect. Once you’ve located them all, you can make any needed replacements and note the different furnace filter sizes so in three months the process of choosing the right filter and ordering replacements is easy and another part of scheduled home maintenance. Keep your home’s air clean by regularly replacing used furnace filters and avoid the build-up of pollutants.