Hi, I am Laura Pearman, the AC Answer Lady, holder of a Florida State AC Contractor License Class B, and the Managing Partner at the Frosty’s AC Company. I am also an experienced Registered Respiratory Therapist. Because of my background, I am qualified to discuss AC Filters in detail.
By regularly changing your AC Filter you can:
- Keep your in-house air clean, refreshing and odors free
- Filter out health-risk contaminants of:
- Dust mites debris, dust & lint
- Aggravate allergies of pet dander, pollen, mold, bacteria and virus carriers
- Allow your AC System to run at Peak Cooling Capacity by a free flow of air
- Improve Energy Efficiency and Longer Life by preventing dirt build-up on coils
Generally, your AC Filter must be changed within 90 days to ensure the best possible air quality for your home or business. Depending on the filter, it’s important to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the specific type and specifications of the filter, as to the required change interval.
How is an AC Filter Rated?
The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers, (or for short ASHRAE) has devised a filter rating system referred to as the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value or MERV. MERV is a simple standard to rate filter efficiency by using numbers 1 to 20. The higher the MERV number more effective the air filter. For example, MERV 10 will remove a larger quality of small particles from the air than a MERV 6 filter.
Thus, MERV rating is a standard to compare one type of filter or filter brand to another. To give you more understanding about AC rating, the EPA recommends for schools a filter between MERV 8 through MERV 13. Moreover, I recommend a minimum MERV 8 filter for those people that have allergies or asthma. Also, I don’t recommend cheaper fiberglass throwaway filters of a MERV 4 or less, because these filters allow the passthrough of debris over time that will build-up on the evaporator coils. The results over a prolonged period are poorer cooling efficiency and a short AC System life.
The higher the MERV value to the more costly the filter. Hence, you need to perform a tradeoff of the cost of the filter and the quality of the filter to remove particles. In general, I recommend to my customers a minimum MERV 8 rated filter. A MERV 8 filter has an average efficiency of 70% to 84.9% for particle size from 3 microns to 10 microns.
Another Solution is to have Frosty’s AC to install a Lennox PUREAIR™.
One Solution for the Entire Home and Everyone living in it
We install the PureAir™ Indoor Air Quality System to interconnect with your Air Handler. PureAir™ is a single-point air cleaner that will address pollutants that circulate throughout your entire home or business. PureAir™ is a whole-building solution that means it cleans the air in every room and every breath you take. Our PureAir™ removes:
99.9% of all particles of pollen, dust and pet dander
90% of viruses, such as MRSA, flu, and cold
50% of household odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours
GET UP TO A $150 REBATE ON PUREAIR™ FROM FROSTY”S AC.*
Cleans the air in your home better than any other single system you can buy, doesn’t
produce ozone and that means cleaner air in every room.
Frosty’s AC is an Authorized Lennox Dealer for 20 Years.
Get a Free Quote for Frosty’s IAQ System
Contact us (813) 621-5900 to schedule a free service call to install Frosty’s IAQ System.