6 Simple Tips That Will Help You Choose a Suitable Air Filter For Your Home

Homeowners are becoming more and more concerned with air quality. Fortunately, a decent air filter can help people relax. By catching a significant portion of potentially dangerous airborne particles, such as smoke, dust, pet dander, and allergens, when the air flows through the filter, it can assist in providing filtered, cleaner air.

You’ve undoubtedly felt perplexed when attempting to choose the best home air filter for your requirements. Which is the best? Are the priciest products worthwhile investments? It might be challenging to determine which air filter is best for you given the variety of brands and sizes available at the local hardware shop, and not all air filters are created equal. Here are six things to think about when purchasing a new air filter.

Filter Size

You won’t ever experience the full effectiveness that your system and filter can offer until you have the right size home air filter. The correct measurements are easily found on the label of your existing filter, or you can measure it yourself. If you don’t know how to measure it, the internet could help you. Air filters are typically one inch thick, but there are many different width and height standards, and some systems have bigger filters.

Material and MERV Rating

The 16-point MERV rating system is used to categorize the filter efficiency. The Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value is referred to as MERV. This figure tells the user how well the filter is made to hold impurities under the least effective circumstances.

These exemplary MERV ratings and their corresponding efficiency help illustrate the scope of this system. When looking for particular filters, remember that this is just a reference and to read the information provided by the filter manufacturers.

Average Filtration Efficiency Rating:

• Fiberglass, disposable panels, washable metal/synthetic, self-charging, MERV 1-4 60-80 percent (Passive)

• Pleated, media panel, MERV 5-8 80-95 percent Cube

• Extended pleated MERV 9–12 >95%

• Electronic MERV 13–16 > 98 percent

Determine The MERV Rating

Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) ratings will be assigned to each filter. Higher MERV ratings catch smaller particles, whereas lower ratings reflect the size of particles the filter will remove. Up to a four-star rating can stop between 60 and 80 percent of particles. The majority of homeowners will utilize filters with ratings of between seven and eight, which are adequate for trapping hazardous dust and debris. A filter with a MERV rating of nine or ten is recommended if you have pets or someone who has allergies or asthma.

Know The Air Filter Types

When picking air filters, there are various types and aspects to take into account, in addition to whole-house or single-room models. Here are a few of the most typical characteristics and types:

• HEPA air cleaners
• UV (ultraviolet) cleaners
• Air purifiers with activated carbon
• air purifiers with ions
• cleaners for central air (such as the iWave)

High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) purifiers remove airborne contaminants such as dust, pollen, pet dander, and more. A real HEPA filter must be able to capture 99.97% of particles bigger than 0.3 microns. As opposed to HEPA-type or HEPA-like, make sure the device specifies that it is a true HEPA filtration system.

Since activated carbon is so porous, it can filter a large number of airborne pollutants.

UV light is used by ultraviolet purifiers to disinfect the air and get rid of bacteria and viruses. The growth of air contaminants can be halted by UV light.

Ions are produced in the air by ionic air cleaners. Pollutants and other particles are drawn to these ions and made heavier as a result. They either fall to the ground or get stuck in a collection location as they gain weight.

Whole-house purifiers that may be connected to any HVAC system are central AC air purifiers. By eliminating bacteria, mold, and even viruses, the system creates a cleaner, healthier air for the entire family.

Follow Your Manufacturer’s Guidelines

Make sure to select the filter type and size suggested by the manufacturer of your HVAC system. For the filter to perform both safely and effectively, it must be a perfect fit for the system in terms of both size and suggested MERV ratings.

You can keep your system operating properly by selecting the right MERV rating and filter type for your system, and scheduling yearly inspections with an experienced company like Area Sheet Metal Heating and Cooling ensures that your HVAC system operates efficiently, addressing any issues before they escalate into major problems.

Consider Your Budget

You might be curious about the most durable alternative or the most cost-effective air purification system. Cheap air filters are available, but they won’t work as well as more expensive models and won’t last as long. Even bigger air filters need regular maintenance and cleaning.

We hope that this article has given you more information about the various kinds of air filters available. Think about these kinds and select the one that is most suited to your home if you want to reap the greatest benefits and have the cleanest indoor air.