Air Filters: What to Know

Air filters are vital parts of a home’s HVAC and heating systems, but how much do you actually know about them? Learn more about air filters and their role in the average home.

A clean home is a comfortable one, but keeping it clean is more difficult when the air system is bringing in outside issues. The air system works to bring in fresh air, regardless of how clean it actually is. Air filters clean out the passing airflow free of any intruding particles, trapping and absorbing the problems in their mesh weaving. The interior of a home stays clean as air filters affect the comfort of those living inside.

Outside Particles are Kept Out

Air particles blocked by a filter range from unwanted smells to dangerous smoke or allergens that affect breathing. Different homes are built in different environments, some facing issues with heavier pollutants than others. Air filters prevent a home’s environment from affecting the air inside and your ability to breathe comfortably.

MERV Ratings and Standards

Air filters for a home are ranked on the MERV, or Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value, value system. This system rates air filters based on the tightness of their mesh weaving, the tighter the weave the higher the filter is rated. Lower rated air filters are cheaper, but unable to block out smaller airborne particles. Higher rated air filters are unable to process air efficiently, more moderate air filters are best for the average home.

Air Filters Match Any Home

Air filters come in a variety of sizes in order to best fit the HVAC or heating system of any average home. Filters for an air or heating come with a number that provides the necessary size needed for its replacement. Air filter delivery is available from quality provider’s for the filter sizes needed and the quality best suited for a system.

Dirty Air Filters Become an Issue

Air quality is raised by clean filters, but they do not stay clean forever. Eventually, the air filters in a system will accumulate dust and debris to a point where they are completely covered in the particles. Blocked air filters become a problem when the airflow that is supposed to go through is stopped and unable to pass efficiently. A home without airflow becomes full of dry stagnant air, which is terrible for the lungs. Airflow brings fresh air in, but it also brings the airborne particles that come from inside a home out.

Benefits of Airflow

The air inside of a house is kept clean with air filters, which cleanses air going in and the air already inside. This is important to note for homes that have resident smokers or pets, both of which result in dangerous airborne contaminants floating around a home. When smoke is not filtered in an air system then it may be left lingering in a room, where it eventually settles and becomes a thin film on top of multiple surfaces. Pet dander is able to cause allergy development or trigger sneezing in guests and residents alike. Air filters cleanse airflow and the end result is a safer, cleaner home for everyone.

Save with New Filters

When the air filters in a home are dirty then the system acts to compensate and push airflow through the blocked mesh weave. The system will increase its use of electricity in an attempt to push the system harder and keep the air going. This increase in energy use shows up on bills at the end of the month and increases a home’s carbon footprint. New Filters mean lighter billing and a more affordable air system for a home.