MERV Ratings: Everything You Need to Know
When learning about HVAC systems, there are a lot of acronyms that are thrown around. MERV ratings are one of the more common ones and are related to filters. Understanding what the MERV rating of a filter means is important for keeping your St. Cloud, Florida, home comfortable. Here’s a quick guide to MERV ratings and how they affect you.
What Is MERV?
MERV stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value. Essentially, this is a rating that lets you know how good an air filter is at doing its job. Lower-rated filters are less effective at removing particles from the air and aren’t as thick nor as dense. On the other end of the scale are thick, fine filters that are excellent at removing dust and other debris.
What Rating Is Right For Me?
There is a tradeoff between the lower and higher filters. It’s easy to think that the higher the MERV rating, the better it’ll work for your home, but that isn’t always true. Really high rated filters may be too thick for your HVAC system to pull air through at the rate it needs. This can lead to poor airflow and an overworked HVAC system.
If you’re concerned about what rating to buy, you can always check your HVAC system manual — it should tell you what rating range the HVAC works best with. It’s also important to note that the higher-rated filters tend to be more expensive.
Important Considerations
When selecting a filter, there are several important considerations. First is the needs of your family. For families who have allergies, it’s best to stick to the higher range of filters. These will do a better job keeping allergens away from your family members and keep your indoor air quality levels high.
If you aren’t as concerned about allergies, middle range filters do a great job and aren’t super expensive. You’ll also want to be sure you’re buying the right size.
Frank’s Air Conditioning can answer all your filter and air quality related questions. Give us a call at (407) 490-2070 to set up a consultation today.
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