Are you having trouble locating the air filters in your home? You're not alone. Many homeowners struggle to find the air cleaner housing in their HVAC systems. Fortunately, this guide will help you locate the air filter in your home and provide tips on how to document its location for future reference. In most homes, you'll find the air cleaner housing located right next to the air handler for your heating or cooling system.
This is a large metal box with a fan motor and a fan inside. Most air handlers are installed in the basement, attic, or utility closet. The next step can be more complicated to find the air filter. It can be difficult to locate in some HVAC systems, but you can usually find the air cleaner in the return air duct.
Or in simple terms, that large metal grille on the wall, floor, ceiling, or door of the utility closet. Return air ducts can be virtually anywhere. The photo at the top of this page shows another conventional air filter located inside a vertical compartment of the air handler blower, in which case the filter was very dirty and blocked with debris. Continue reading on AIR FILTER OPTIMUM INDOOR or select a topic from the closely related articles below, or view the full ARTICLE INDEX.
Provide AIR FILTER LOCATION: MORE examples of where and how to look for filters in an air conditioning or hot air heating system. This is important because many filters are reinforced to prevent airflow from collapsing the filter material and leading it directly to the fan itself. There should be a metal divider that prevents significant air intake if you only use a 1-inch filter. The air handler draws air from the home through the return duct system and then blows the air through the heating or cooling system and returns it to the house through the duct system.
Central air conditioning filters (or heating system filters if hot air heat is also used) are sometimes difficult to find. For the Ruud achiever 80-foot super quiet air controller, there is a molded permanent air filter that slides down the back of the unit when you look at it from the burner side. Change the air filters in the air conditioning or heating system every month when the air conditioning system is operating. Once you have located the air filters, document the location of the HVAC system air filters for future building owners, occupants, or repairers.
If you can't find the filters for your air conditioning system (there may be more than one air filter), here are some places to look. The filter is installed so that the arrow (and airflow) shows air moving through the filter TO the duct system (on a central air return grill) or TO THE air handler (for filters installed in the blower unit). Knowing where air filters are normally located can help you find dirty or clogged air filters that increase air conditioning or heating costs.
