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And keeping them clean is a good way to reduce your AC energy costs. Here at Essential Home & Garden, we get tons of questions about MERV ratings on air filters. A merv rating of 13 to 16 is considered hospital-level air quality, so it's unlikely that your home will need more than... So, the best rating for residential homes is somewhere in the middle – something that will filter a considerable amount of particles while still allowing adequate airflow.
First, let’s look at why choosing the right furnace filter is so important. Eleven important air filtration and filtration-related terms defined for homeowners looking to advance their HVAC and IAQ knowledge. For asthma and allergy sufferers, MERV filters between are normally recommended. These filters provide the best air purification to help ease symptoms of lung conditions or allergy flare-ups. MERV ratings range from 1 to 20, with lower ratings denoting a lower-quality filter.
What is the best merv rating for home use?
Your filters need to be the right type, size, and brand to filter particles out of the air effectively, regardless of the MERV rating you choose. This is an affordable option that keeps your furnace working efficiently while blocking out particulate matter. However, depending on how often you need to change your filter and where you buy filters, choosing a higher MERV filter can improve your air quality without costing more.
Do you have to pick the filter with the highest MERV rating? Filters are rectangular shaped, so there will be a length, width, and thickness (usually 1-2″ for residential HVAC systems). The MERV rating range is 1-20, with 1 being the lowest and 20 being the highest. After the filter is clean, shake the excess water out and allow it to drain fully. Once the filter is free of excess water, reinstall the filter into the system .
Air filter MERV rating
If you are susceptible to allergens, then you may want to use a filter with a MERV rating of about 10 to 12. Merv is an online rating system that allows users to rate content on a scale from one to five stars. It has been used by the media industry for years and it is a great tool for publishers and agencies to help them in their content marketing efforts. There are many articles discussing the pros and cons of MERV 13 vs MERV 11. Filters rated between are typically only used in hospitals and laboratories, where air needs to be as clean as possible.
By themselves, portable air cleaners and HVAC filters are not enough to protect people from the virus that causes COVID-19. MERV ratings greater than 16 are commonly used in specialized commercial environments where air filtration is essential, such as hospitals. The MERV 1 rating is the lowest efficiency with minimal filtration. The 16 rating offers the highest efficiency and filtration.
Is a merv 11 filter a hepa filter?
The air filter in an HVAC system plays a critical role in the health and wellbeing of you and your family. They promote clean and healthy air in your home by trapping allergens, dust, dander, pollen, viruses, and other pathogens. You might think that a higher MERV rating would automatically be better, but it’s not. The higher the MERV rating, the smaller the pores are for the air to flow through an HVAC filter. This can create more resistance in airflow than a system is designed to manage, thus making it inefficient. Reducing the airflow in your system can actually worsen the air quality in your home and put a damaging amount of pressure on the fan of your furnace or AC system.
Disposable pleated filters are more effective than disposable fiberglass filters, and they’re available in higher MERV ratings . Reusable metal filters are more convenient, but much more costly as well. They’re made of polyester or cotton paper sheets and are good at trapping small particles.
When Should You Change Your Filters?
The best way to determine this is to look in the user manual, on the HVAC unit’s nameplate, or online. If you cannot find your system’s max MERV rating, give our team of HVAC pros a call for assistance. Purolator filters consistently get 4.5 and 5-star reviews from customers, and HVAC professionals widely recommend them. These filters are reliable, effective, and available in a variety of filter types. You can order replacement filters through the app, ask questions, and even monitor the quality of your indoor air.
Air filters with the highest MERV ratings are constructed to catch the smallest of particles and tend to be thicker. The denser and more tightly woven the fibers of an air filter are, the harder it is to push air through them. That means the HVAC system must work harder to move air when a filter with a high MERV rating is used. High-efficiency particulate air filters work great for people that have allergies or respiratory issues.
If the rating is too low, potentially dangerous or damage-causing particles can easily slip by. If it is too high, your furnace will overwork itself because of limited airflow. Our goal is to help you create a healthier indoor space through education, awareness and action. We support clean air for all and we know it’s possible for every single indoor space. While MERV 8 filters are probably ok most of the year, they aren’t rated for removing the fine particulate in wildfire smoke.
MERV filter ratings range from 1 to 20, with 20 being the most efficient at removing particles. The higher the MERV rating, the better the filter's ability to block fine particles. But even among filters of the same type, there can be a wide variance of quality and efficiency. If you have ever shopped for a new air filter for your home, you have seen the variety of types available.
In addition to rips and tears that may occur, washing the filter substantially increases the chance of mold or bacteria growth on the filter itself. The filter may even limit airflow to the point where it causes damage to your HVAC system, leading to added expenses in repairs. Ultimately, the ideal MERV rating for your home depends on the local pollen count, the severity of your family’s allergies , and what your HVAC system can handle. For example, a hospital setting requires exceptional filtration, so higher MERV ratings are needed.
Remember that higher MERV ratings mean that your HVAC system will have to work harder to pull air through, so double-check that the system can handle it. Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values, or MERV ratings, are a scale used to rate your air filter’s ability to trap particles. Values range from 1 to 16 and serve various purposes, mainly the particle size they can capture. For starters, it filters everything that a Health Shield does, which includes pollen, dust, dust mites, mold, bacteria, and pet dander. Then, it also filters out cooking oil smoke, smoke, smog, AND virus carriers.
Is MERV 7 good enough?
A MERV rating of 1-6 is the lowest range of MERV ratings, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you should write off a filter with a rating in this range. These types of filters do have their uses in certain situations. Most aluminum and mesh filters and cheap air filters fall within this range. The chart also uses percentages based on the chances of an air filter capturing dust particles based on the size of the microns. As the MERV rating goes up, a filter has higher chances of capturing smaller and smaller particles.
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