The air you breathe inside a building is often less healthy than that found outdoors. This is due to the contaminants that build up as air is recirculated through the HVAC system. One of the most effective ways to improve indoor air quality and protect the occupants of your building is to upgrade the HVAC air filters that are used to treat the air.

Equipment Protection is No Longer Good Enough

Air filters were originally developed to protect HVAC equipment and products like fiberglass furnace filters filled that need. However, with the increasing popularity of high efficiency AC coils and desire to provide improved indoor air quality, the time for those low efficiency fiberglass products has passed. Modern Pleated filters are now the standard for commercial HVAC systems and there are a variety of different types and performance levels.

Energy and Air Filters

For most buildings, the HVAC system represents the largest portion of the energy bill. By utilizing low resistance air filters and variable speed drives, you can significantly reduce the amount of energy consumed by the system.

Life Cycle Cost for Filters

Standard Commercial HVAC Filter Solutions

Click to enlarge

MERV stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value and is a scale from 1 to 16. The higher the MERV rating, the better a filter is at removing small particles from the air. Wire backed pleated filters have a wire backing that allows for the use of media that has the ability to capture smaller particles. Self Supported Pleated contain no metal and are typically less expensive to purchase.

Higher Efficiency Solutions

If your HVAC system has higher efficiency filters, there are options to improve those as well. MERV 13 is typically the minimum efficiency seen in modern high efficiency systems, but the option to upgrade in both format and efficiency is available.

Click to enlarge