Posted: December 4, 2023

How Often Should You Change Your Furnace Filter?

Home Heating FAQs

With winter in full swing, you want to know that your Hudson Valley home has a heating system you can count on. Do you know your home heating basics? For starters, what is a furnace? And is yours ready to keep you and your family cozy and warm this winter?

What is a Furnace?

A furnace is a forced air system. Furnaces burn a fuel like heating oil to heat air that a blower fan then pushes through your home through a duct system that leads to vents.

Furnace Maintenance: Filters

Proper maintenance is an important part of keeping your furnace working as efficiently as possible and for as long as possible. One piece of furnace maintenance is replacing the filter. How often you should replace your furnace filter depends on how thick it is.

Here are the general guidelines for changing filters based on their thickness:

• 1-inch to 2-inch filters, replace every 1 to 3 months
• 3-inch to 4-inch filters, replace every 6 to 9 months
• 5-inch to 6-inch filters, replace every 9 to 12 months

Is It Time for a New Furnace?

Are you wondering whether your furnace will make it through the winter or it’s time for an upgrade? Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

1. How old is your furnace? A high-efficiency furnace can last up to fifteen years. However, if your furnace is at least ten years old, there could be advantages to replacing it. A new high-efficiency furnace could lower your fuel bills by as much as 30 percent—all while keeping your home more comfortable than an old furnace would.
2. Has your furnace received annual tune-ups? Proper maintenance is one of the keys to your furnace’s longevity. Bottini Fuel offers furnace maintenance that will help your heating system run as efficiently as possible for as long as possible.
3. How much are you spending on repairs? The older a furnace gets the more repairs it usually need—especially if it doesn’t get regular maintenance. Unfortunately, the repairs tend to get more expensive and more frequent with time. Generally speaking, if you could buy a new furnace for twice what you’re paying in repairs, then replacement is a better value. And you’ll save in fuel costs once you upgrade as well.
4. Is your furnace efficient? An older furnace, especially if it isn’t receiving regular maintenance, might only be 60% efficient. A new furnace can be up to 98% efficient. That difference in efficiency will show up on your fuel bills.

If you’re still not sure whether it’s time to replace your furnace, contact the experts at Bottini Fuel to schedule a comprehensive evaluation of your heating system.

Your Hudson Valley Furnace Professionals

Whether your furnace needs maintenance or repairs or it’s time for an upgrade, Bottini Fuel can help. We perform furnace maintenance, furnace repair, and furnace installation in New York’s Hudson Valley. And we do everything with our trademark professional, reliable, and speedy service.

Bottini Fuel has over 70 years of experience keeping our customers comfortable and safe in their homes. And with locations serving New York’s Hudson Valley as well as parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, we’re here for you.

Contact us today to learn more or to schedule an evaluation visit for your heating system.