Best AC Filter for air flow – Buyer’s Guide

Do you know how much dollars do you spend on cooling and heating your home ? While one may not fully realize this, but the spends on cooling & heating constitute a large part of the utility bill. And this spending varies basis the quality of the air filters in your HVAC systems. And this is where installing the best AC filter for air flow in your HVAC systems make sense. A dirty choked filter restricts the air flow, reduces the system efficiency, and eventually leads to a breakdown. A breakdown will mean more repairs, replacements and more spending.

So if you are receiving low air flow, check the air filters first. It shall be better to replace the air filters of your air conditioners in the nick of time than to spend money on breakdowns and avoidable repairs. And as a rule, look out for the best air filter for AC, always. Let’s start with an understanding of the basics of what is an AC air filter and then move to the list of best Air Conditioner filters in the town.

What is an air filter ?

An air filter is generally made up of pleated paper and is enclosed in a cardboard frame. At times there’s also the synthetic / polyster material based ones. Their basic purpose is to keep the air clean which is circulating in the air conditioner system. AC filters trap various kinds of air and pollutant particles which can potentially affect our health in a negative way. Some of them being:

• Dust & dirt
• Pollen
• Mold & mold spores
• Lint & Fiber
• Wood particles, plaster particles
• Hair & Animal fur
• Bacteria & other micro organisms

So it is always advisable to regularly check on your AC air filters and replace them if and when found necessary with the best AC filters only.

Read the complete research and the list of top rated AC filters here

How to go about choosing the best AC filter for air flow

What are the things that you should consider while going for an air filter? Knowing few things first hand can help you make the right choice to get the best air filter for AC.

Your own opinion

With finding the best AC air filters for air flow, it also boils down to what you think about your home. There might be an ongoing construction activity in your vicinity and you might need a thicker air filter than the normal times. Or there could be a pollution issue in your area due to which it would be advisable to have better quality AC air filters than what would have been normal.

Your Priority

What is your objective you want to achieve with this filter ? For some the priority no.1 might be to keep the allergens away, while for others it could be to filter out the dust. Think of what you want to achieve with those AC filters in your home and choose accordingly.

Health Issues

For some people with certain allergies, having a heavy duty air filter is of basic importance otherwise they will be prone to allergies all through the season. If you live in a warm place, you might want to filter out the mold so that these mold spores don’t end up contaminating your home. For some others, living without the highest grade of air filter results in danger to their health.

And for some with no health issues, basic air conditioners filters are good enough. The difference in quality has a bearing in difference of pricing too. You can save money on deciding on the right kind of air filter for your air conditioner.

Energy Efficient

An air filter is a variable expense in your budgetary scheme of things. It does not make sense to acquire one which adds to your budget without actually serving the purpose. Getting a restrictive, heavy duty air filter will be great for the quality of air in your home, but it will be a drag on your HVAC maintenance bills.

The smartest way is to strike a balance between the filter quality need and the energy efficiency required. Also having a very restrictive filter quality can result in over working of your air conditioner system, leading to increase wear & tear of the parts. You should go for an AC filter which gives you enough air flow in line with your needs.

Maintenance

It is always good to have AC filters which are low on maintenance. It should not be something that binds you with regular cleaning and frequent replacements.

MPR

It stands for Microparticle Performance Rating, developed by 3M. It scores the best filters depending on their ability to filter airborne particles smaller than 1 micron

MERV

It stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value. The higher is this number, the more finer particles the filter will catch. MERV has been developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating & Air Conditioning Engineers. Ask yourself what do you want to filter to arrive at kind of Merv rating you will need.

Merv 1-4:

They are the standard common filters and provide a basic filtration standard at low cost. Good to filter out dust particles.

Merv 5-8:

These are commonly used is residential premises. Generally made of pleated paper to provide better surface to capture fine particles. Good for pollen particles, mites etc.

Merv 9-12:

Mid tier filters of relative better quality and have the ability to capture particles of 1 micron & above. Good for VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds – kind of chemical that can evaporate in room temperature settings and cause breathing issues)

Merv 13-16:

They are among the best rated AC filters and can capture minute particles of 0.3 microns & above. Good for bacteria filtration.

Merv 17-20:

These are good to keep the viruses at bay. In fact anything beyond Merv rating of 15 have the capacity to capture viruses. Super efficient in terms of filter process.

The higher rating an air filter has, the more effective it shall be, the more restrictive air flow it will manifest, and more expensive it will be.