Choosing The Right Furnace Filter

Choosing the right filter for your home comfort system can have lasting effects on your furnace and air conditioning system; as well as the quality of air circulating through your home.

Filter Basics

Your home air filter, or “furnace filter”, plays a major role in keeping your furnace’s heat exchanger and air conditioning evaporative coil clean.  Keeping these components clean will improve the efficiency and prolong your equipment’s life; which can cut down on service fees!  The style of filter you choose will also affect the indoor air that your family breaths.

Filter Style

There are so many different home filter options, so which one do you choose?  Well that depends on your needs.  If allergies don’t bother you, then a basic one, two, or four-inch filter should be fine.  On the other hand, if allergies or respiratory illness are a major concern to you or your family, then you would be much better off with getting an upgraded filtering system; such as a media filter or an electronic air cleaner.

The least effective style would be fiberglass filters because they do not capture much of the smaller debris that travels throughout your home, while pleated filters have a tighter thread to them which capture more and smaller debris.  A media filter is normally around four inches wide and slides into a filter cabinet that is mounted on the side of your furnace.  These have a much greater surface area, so is more efficient at cleaning the air.

Filter Brand 

The brand of filter you use is an important factor when it comes to keeping your equipment clean.  It is worth spending the couple extra dollars to prolong the life of your furnace, coil, and other household belongings.  We see equipment that needs to get replaced all the time because a knock-off filter was used instead of the brand name filter which was designed to be part of the system.

Aprilaire, a leading manufacturer of home air filtration products, and Pharo Heating & Cooling strongly believe that a knock-off filter will not protect your equipment as well as the brand name filter that the system was designed for.  Our technicians see the difference between them all the time and agree that a brand name filter will help keep equipment much cleaner, just ask them!

Choosing the right filter can have a long-lasting impression on you and your home comfort equipment!

Gas Furnace Trouble Shooting Guide

If you ever have trouble with your heating system, remember that you can always count on Pharo Heating & Cooling; with 24-hour emergency service, 365 days a year. Most of the time we will need a technician to look at your system to repair it but below are some simple things you can check before calling for service:

 Check your thermostat to make sure it is powered.

– You might have batteries that need to be replaced.

• Check to make sure that your thermostat is set to the “heat” position.
• Make sure that the temperature setting on the thermostat is set above the indoor temperature showing on the thermostat.
• Ensure that there is power to the furnace:

– Try turning the fan to the ‘On’ position using the switch on the thermostat dedicated to the fan to make sure you have power to the furnace. If the fan turns on, that means you have power.

• Check the circuit breaker or fuse at the electrical panel.

– If you feel comfortable, try turning it off and then turn it back on to reset the system.

• Check the switch located on the side of your furnace. Is it turned ‘On’?

– Most furnaces will have a switch installed on the side of the furnace for service purposes. Sometimes they get turned off accidently.

• Make sure your outside vents are not blocked by snow or other debris.
• Has your furnace filter been changed recently?

– Dirty filters can shut down the furnace due to not having enough air moving through the system.