4 ms·

Get a MERV16 filter for your furnace and you'll have amazingly clean air. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Mean-PM-25-removal-efficiency-for-HVAC-filters-lis

Get a MERV16 filter for your furnace and you'll have amazingly clean air. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Mean-PM-25-removal-efficiency-for-HVAC-filters-listed-by-MERV-classification_fig1_280321614 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Mean-PM-25-removal-effic...

Sunspark 4y ago
The higher the # the more restricted the air flow is, which is harder for the fan to work with. This may be an issue if the fan is not very good. It is not true though that the air will become amazingly clear based on the presence of the filter. I used a 11 for a long time and it certainly didn't stop everything from getting covered in dust anyway. My place is not airtight.
- timcederman 4y ago
  Everyone says this, but it's not true for the newer filters which use electrostatic attraction to filter the smaller particles. A dirty filter (do you know how many people don't ever change their filter?) will put far more load on a blower than a better filter. A MERV11 is significantly less effective, and wouldn't affect dust production anyway since it is created mostly by your skin, clothing fibers, etc. During the California wildfires I bought several air sensors and placed them around my house and experimented with different filters. a MERV16 with a carbon layer reduced VOCs, PM2.5, etc all down to extremely low levels in every room.
jankyxenon 4y ago
One caveat on this - most residential systems don't have fans that are designed to go up to MERV16. High MERV ratings put more load on the blower equipment.
- timcederman 4y ago
  The fans aren't "designed" for MERV16, but most are very capable of supporting them. I'm not sure how this misconception got hold that it's significantly bad to use higher grade filters. See my other comment - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33550653 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33550653

Sunspark 4y ago

The higher the # the more restricted the air flow is, which is harder for the fan to work with. This may be an issue if the fan is not very good. It is not true though that the air will become amazingly clear based on the presence of the filter. I used a 11 for a long time and it certainly didn't stop everything from getting covered in dust anyway. My place is not airtight.

timcederman 4y ago
Everyone says this, but it's not true for the newer filters which use electrostatic attraction to filter the smaller particles. A dirty filter (do you know how many people don't ever change their filter?) will put far more load on a blower than a better filter. A MERV11 is significantly less effective, and wouldn't affect dust production anyway since it is created mostly by your skin, clothing fibers, etc. During the California wildfires I bought several air sensors and placed them around my house and experimented with different filters. a MERV16 with a carbon layer reduced VOCs, PM2.5, etc all down to extremely low levels in every room.

jankyxenon 4y ago

One caveat on this - most residential systems don't have fans that are designed to go up to MERV16. High MERV ratings put more load on the blower equipment.

timcederman 4y ago
The fans aren't "designed" for MERV16, but most are very capable of supporting them. I'm not sure how this misconception got hold that it's significantly bad to use higher grade filters. See my other comment - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33550653 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33550653