When it comes to selecting the right air filter for your home, it's important to understand the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) rating system. This system, developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), is designed to help you choose the best filter for your home. A MERV 10 filter must remove at least 85% of E3 particles, 65% of E2 particles and 20% of E1 particles from the air. Our Essential+ filter removes a minimum of 87.9% of E3 particles, 65.6% of E2 particles and 24.4% of E1 particles.
It's important to remember that a higher MERV rating means greater resistance, which means less airflow. When researching HVAC systems, airflow will increase a lot as it is very important to the performance and longevity of your oven or air controller. Airflow is also the key to a comfortable home. Overall, our recommended MERV rating for oven filters ranges from 6 to 8 to achieve a great balance between maximum oven efficiency and home comfort.
While mathematics may suggest that if you want the best air quality, you should buy a filter in the MERV 13-16 category, it's important to remember that this will reduce airflow and put more strain on your HVAC system. To further improve indoor air quality, household air purifiers that use HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters can theoretically remove 99.97 percent of mold, pollen, bacteria and other particles as small as 0.3 microns, according to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Choosing the right oven filter is based on balancing indoor air quality with the capabilities of your HVAC system. The wrong type of air filter can force the boiler to work harder and increase the risk of it breaking. In fact, as the MERV rating increases, air flow decreases, forcing the HVAC system to work harder to push air through the furnace, increasing the possibility of a potential breakdown. Although MERV 8 is known to be effective in filtering contaminants such as pollen, dust mites, sawdust, mold spores and lint from the air, higher MERV ratings will further clean the air. Selecting the correct MERV rating for your air filter is a balancing act between the capabilities of your HVAC system and the indoor air quality you want to achieve. Filter technology has grown by leaps and bounds over the years, and MERV ratings are designed to help us determine the most effective and efficient air filter options for heating and cooling systems and more.
A clogged filter can cause serious complications for the heating and cooling system, as the system will have to work harder to circulate air and air quality will decrease. Having filters with the correct MERV rating is essential to ensure that the air is well filtered without overloading the HVAC system.
