It’s crucial for you, your family, and your health to preserve the high-quality air in your house. Given that the outside air is frequently contaminated and can be hazardous to your health to varying degrees depending on where you live, maintaining good indoor air quality is a smart approach to guarantee that you are breathing safe and healthy air. For that purpose, it’s necessary to comprehend how to make sure you have the proper filtration system and how to create a cozy, secure environment in your home. Check out this simple guide to discover that.
Filter Size
To fully benefit from what an air filtration system can offer, the air filter must be the right size. The correct dimensions are easily found on the label of your existing filter, or you may measure it yourself. Home air filters are typically one inch thick, but there are many different width and height standards, and some systems have bigger filters.
Room Size
Additionally, the size of the area in which you will install your air filtration system is crucial since you need to pick a model that can function efficiently in a larger space. To that end, larger places will require larger air filtration systems to function efficiently, so make sure to choose one that is 20–40% larger than the space you’ll utilize it for.
MERV Ratings
Not every air filter will clean your air as well as another. More pollutants will be eliminated from your indoor air as quality rises. Remember that these better air filters typically cost a little more.
Here is when the MERV rating, or Minimum Efficiency Rating Value of the filter is relevant. It is a numerical number used to rate and contrast the effectiveness and performance of the filter.
- MERV 1-4: These are affordable, widely-used standard filters.
- MERV 6-8: These are commonly utilized in residential settings and are constructed of cloth or pleated paper. They offer good filtering.
- MERV 9–12: These filters offer great efficiency in your house and can capture particles as small as one micron.
The best standard filters are MERV 13–16, which have the maximum effectiveness and can capture particles as fine as 0.3 microns or greater.
When choosing the appropriate MERV rating for your air filter, you must strike a balance between the capabilities of your HVAC system and the indoor air quality you wish to attain. For the best balance between maximum furnace efficiency and home comfort, a furnace filter, for instance, has MERV ratings ranging from 6 to 8. The indoor air quality in your home, the performance of your HVAC system, and most importantly, the safety of your family are all significantly impacted by the MERV rating of the furnace filter you select.
Whereas a higher MERV number may offer superior filtering effectiveness, it’s crucial to realize that a filter with a MERV rating that’s too high might increase the expense of running your furnace and air conditioning system. The airflow through the system may be more constrained and labor-intensive the higher the MERV rating.
Higher Performance
Pleated and polyester filters have a significantly higher MERV rating, with the capacity to remove up to 85% of indoor pollutants. They are very effective in capturing dust particles.
HEPA filters are the priciest filters because they eliminate over 99 percent of airborne irritants, making them ideal for use in hospitals or by those with severe allergies. Although they are quite effective at filtering, there is a drawback: they may actually limit air movement and perhaps harm your home’s HVAC system.
Lower Performance
As their name implies, washable filters are reusable after being cleaned. They have a poor MERV rating, though, as they are made to only guard against big dust particles and not against pet dander, germs, or smoke. They may even develop additional fungus and germs if they are not kept clean and well-maintained.
Although fiberglass filters cannot be reused, they are cheap and simple to repair. They are made primarily to keep your air conditioner clean rather than your interior air clean and have a lower MERV rating.
How Often Should You Change Them?
Your HVAC system’s air filters are an essential component because they not only keep your gear clean, but also keep indoor air pure by removing contaminants like dust, pollen, and pet dander.
Every one to three months, they should be regularly replaced, just like any other filter. The best time to replace them is in the spring since the prolonged winter months result in closed dwellings and air that is particularly contaminated with dust and debris.
For houses with several pets or people who have allergies or respiratory disorders, you should replace your filter every month. If you have pets, you should think about changing the filter every 60 days or every two months.
In order to provide you and your family with good indoor air quality, we hope this article will assist you in selecting the finest air filtration system for your house.