Efficient heating, healthy indoor air quality and all-around household comfort require attention to changing air filters for winter. In the winter season, when homes are more closed up and ventilation is often reduced, the quality of the air inside the house may be affected.
All the warm air produced by your furnace repeatedly circulates through the air filter installed in your central air handler. In most houses, that’s at least 2,000 cubic feet of air every minute. The filter you install should be adequate to remove airborne particles effectively while maintaining system efficiency. For proper filter function and optimum healthy airflow throughout the house, take these factors into consideration when changing air filters for winter:
- Inexpensive “throwaway” fiberglass filters are only designed to trap the largest airborne particles of dust and dirt, in order to protect moving mechanical parts in the blower. They are not effective to safeguard your indoor environment and should be immediately replaced.
- Air filter efficiency is rated by the MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) system, a numeral between 1 and 13. The higher the MERV rating, the more efficient the filter performs at removing airborne particulates.
- For household use, pleated cotton or polyester filters with MERV ratings between 8 and 12 are generally considered optimum for removing 95% of airborne particles including dust, pollen, mold spores, and other substances that may compromise indoor air quality.
- Filters with MERV ratings higher than 12 — such as hospital-grade HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filtration — are so dense that they will obstruct airflow in most home HVAC systems. For special cases where high-efficiency filtration is required in a residence, a special whole-house filter unit can be added to the system ductwork to increase filtration performance without reducing airflow.
- During winter, inspect the filter every month and replace it with a new filter at least every other month to ensure healthy air quality and optimum system airflow.
For more information about changing air filters for the winter, contact the HVAC pros at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning.
Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area