Indoor air quality is a critical factor for any homeowner, especially if someone in the household has respiratory issues. The right HVAC filters can make the difference between air full of contaminants and clean air that is healthy and easy to breathe. When it comes to the health and comfort of your family, friends, and other guests, it's a good idea to get the most efficient air filter you can afford. Not only do they allow people to breathe easier, they can also reduce odors and make your home a more pleasant place to live. If you want to purify the air in your home even further, consider adding an air purifier.
An added benefit of a good oven air filter is improved indoor air quality (IAQ), which means that everyone in the family breathes better. Good air filters can stop biological contaminants, pet dander, dirt, mold spores and other pollutants. Cheap air filters can only stop the largest particles (sand, hair, dust).At its most basic level, an air filter removes impurities such as dust, pet dander or even bacteria from the air that flows through the system. Not only does this improve the air quality inside your home, it also protects your HVAC system from damage.
In addition, pleated filters don't need to be changed as often - just once every 3 months compared to monthly for non-pleated filters. Some filters are reusable and washable, but require meticulous maintenance, so they are not usually found in the most effective air purifiers. Or, thanks to today's smart home technology, you can even buy smart filters like 3M's Filtrete smart air filters that use sensors to control airflow. Doing so will likely create airflow problems that increase your utility costs and decrease the life of the central air unit blower. When comparing the cost of a pleated filter with a non-pleated filter, you should triple the price per filter of the non-pleated filter to get an accurate comparison. While cost is an important factor to consider, the goal is to find the right balance between air filtration for your family's health, effective airflow and energy efficiency. You may have heard that pleated filters will restrict airflow, making the oven or air conditioning unit work harder and increasing your energy costs and burning out the motor.
In reality, with the air in your home constantly recirculating through the ducts and passing through the filters every time, the cumulative effect of the filters increases. Some washable filters aren't much better, but high-end permanent filters can compete with disposable pleated filters - even reaching MERV 12 or higher. Replacing the wrong furnace filters can damage your Phoenix area home's HVAC system and indoor air quality (IAQ).That's a myth: due to its extra surface area, more air passes through it so the HVAC central unit doesn't have to work as hard to push it through. Compared to cheaper basic filters available, medium-efficiency MERV filters like Nordic Pure MERV 12 can greatly reduce airborne dust, mold spores, pollen and even smoke - helping ease respiratory ailments according to an NIH review.
In addition, there are other things that happen in your home that can affect effectiveness such as ventilation (windows open or closed) and new particles appearing constantly - so don't expect perfect filtration.
