There are a large number of air conditioning filters that are available for purchase today. If you are a homeowner who is looking to purchase a filter for your air conditioning system, the sheer variety might be frustrating and confusing. In order to make this process easier, here are some factors that you should consider before purchasing an air conditioning filter.
1. MERV Rating
The very first factor that you need to take into consideration is the MERV rating, or the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value rating. This rating comes from a neutral, third-party company that individually tests air conditioning filters to determine what the smallest size particle they will still regularly collect, as well as the largest particle that they will be able to handle. When you are looking at the MERV rating, you will want to shoot for more than 50% of all particles collected because this will mean that your filter will be blocking enough to allow it to keep functioning. As a result, you are going to want to look for a MERV value of at least eleven.
When you are looking at the scores for a particular filter, make sure that you are looking at the MERV score, rather than the arrestance score. The arrestance score merely measures the largest particle that the filter will be able to block.
2. Number of Pleats
The second thing that you want to look for is the number of pleats that the filter has. The pleats are the folds in the filter. You want the maximum number of pleats because this will make the filter much more efficient, since it will have a greater surface area and more nooks to catch particles. The number of pleats also affects the amount of time that you can allow to pass before changing the filter, since the greater surface area means that more particles can be caught without completely clogging the filter.
The box that the filter comes in will tell you the number of pleats there are per square foot. Try to make sure that you get a filter that has the highest MERV rating with the most number of pleats possible.
3. Lack of an Ion Generator
Finally, you want to make sure that your air conditioning filter does not have an ion generator. An ion generator charges the particles and attracts them with static electricity. This might sound awesome, but in reality, it just makes the dirt stick to the walls, ceiling, and floor of your home, making it more difficult for the filter to actually ever reach those particles.
For more information, contact Enright and Sons or a similar company.
