Choosing the Right Air Filter For Your Raleigh Home

Just go to any home improvement store and the choice of home air filters can be dizzying. Which brand is best? Should you just get the cheapest? These are just two of many of the questions that make the selection mind-boggling. Let Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning attempt to resolve your home air filter questions and allow you to continue enjoying the comfort of your home without concern. 
 
Here’s a simple way to figure out how efficient your old filter is (NOTE: Spare yourself a huge mess by conducting this experiment outside or with something below the filter to help keep things clear): Position the filter horizontally, then with standard table salt, start pouring the salt through the filter to see how much comes out the other side. If some or all the salt falls through the filter, then you know that the filter will let dust particles of similar size pass through. You really should upgrade your filter to something more efficient. 
 
There are 3 primary considerations when choosing a household air filter; Size, Material and MERV rating. 

1) Filter Size 

Size is the easiest factor to ascertain. Simply look at the label of your existing filter to see the proper measurements, or just measure it yourself. Most home air filters are 1” thick, but there are a numerous standard width and height dimensions, and some systems have thicker filters. 

2) Material & MERV Rating 

Filter efficiencies are given a number from 1-16 called the MERV rating.  MERV stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value. This number tells the user, under the least efficient conditions, how well the filter is designed to capture contaminants. 
 
To help explain the scale of this system, these are some common MERV ratings and how they connect to efficiencies. This is only a guide, so make sure you read the filter manufacturers’ information when shopping for specific filters. 

Rating Average Filtration Efficiency 

MERV 1-4 60-80% 
Fiberglass, Disposable Panel, Washable metal/synthetic, self-charging (Passive) 
 
MERV 5-8 80-95% 
Pleated, Media panel, Cube 
 
MERV 9-12 >95% 
Extended pleated 
 
MERV 13-16 >98% 
Electronic 

Be Careful About High MERV Ratings 

While a higher MERV number may ensure better filtration efficiency, it is critical to understand that too high a MERV filter may also take more to operate your furnace and AC system. The higher the MERV, the less the air may flow through the system, and the harder the system may need to work. Your aim is to get the right balance between air flow, air filtration level and energy efficiency. 
 
Consider it this way, the most efficient ‘filter’ would probably be a piece of plywood that would just trap ALL contaminants and all the air from coming inside your Fort Lauderdale home. That’s definitely the “best” air filtration, but would also be a terrible way to live. 
 
The default choice for most systems would be a MERV 6-8. A higher MERV filter should be used subject to the advice of your Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning service advisor to verify your system has the capability of moving the correct volume of air through higher efficiency filters. You normally do not want to sacrifice energy-efficiency for filter efficiency; you want a balance of the two. However, if your family suffers from allergies or respiratory problems and the situation necessitates a high MERV rated air filter, consider a whole-home air filtration solution that will achieve your energy and filter efficiency needs. 
 
Filtration has changed considerably over the past ten years. Initially, home air filters were used in the furnace or air handler only to protect the comfort equipment itself. The story is different today. Fort Lauderdale area homeowners expect their air filter to save children from a a growing list of harmful pollutants, dust mites, and even prevent the need for dusting. Dare to dream! 

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