Basics of Filtrete™ Air Filters – HVAC

City and country living both have their ups and downs regarding air quality. In the city you have to deal with smog, industrial pollutants, and vehicle emissions. In the country you deal with dust (gravel), smoke, and harvest pollutants. Regardless of where you live, everyone deals with allergies, animal dandruff (if you have a pet), cold and flu season, and the dreaded dandelion season (ahChoo!).

That is why buying a reliable filter for your home furnace is important. There are so many brands available in the market that it might become overwhelming to know which filter is the best to keep out the contaminants. Some people don’t pay that much attention to what filter they are using and just buy whatever they see at the store or the cheapest brand. Having the proper filter can help you keep those allergies, animal dandruff, and cold and flu season at bay while helping with the air quality in your home. Please do a little research that can help keep you and your family healthier in the long run.

For our family, we have chosen Filtrete™ Air Filters by 3M. We use the pleated filters because they last longer, and the surface area is greater (than the flat filters), so it traps more particulates; hence, you are breathing cleaner air. One of the biggest things for us is the Filtrete filters are not made of fiberglass. How do you know if a filter is fiberglass? Hold a new one up in the air and if you can see through it, it’s fiberglass. If you didn’t know, fiberglass filters are not biodegradable and therefore are not eco-friendly.

More information on Filtrete can be found HERE.

One of the most important aspects of a filter is to review the MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values) or MPR (Microparticle Performance Rating) values. At DigiKey, we are stocking 3M’s Filtrete in MERV ratings of 1, 2, 5, 7, 11, 12, and 13. The ratings determine the average particle size efficiency in Microns – here is the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) information that will explain more. Now, this is where you need to be careful when picking out the one for your home furnace. The larger the MERV number, the more microns particles it catches, meaning the airflow through the filter is “tighter” (meaning a tighter mesh material). That tightness also means less airflow to your furnace, so make sure you pick the right one for your furnace. Your furnace needs to breathe so the heat exchanger doesn’t get hot and crack (which is very dangerous and life-threatening). This is another reason why you should change your filter regularly because a dirty filter will mean less airflow through your furnace. Not changing filters regularly can lead to poor temperature regulation (adjusting your thermostat to keep a temperature you use to keep at a different setting), higher energy bills, health concerns, furnace failures, and cracked heat exchangers.

Image from https://www.hvac.com/air-quality/consequences-not-changing-your-air-filter/

If you have a large furnace like ours, we can use a MERV 11, part number 19-NADP01-4IN-4-ND. Please do your research on your furnace to see what filter and MERV rating you should use.

How often should you replace your filter? For 1” filters, every 3 months. For 4”, 5”, and 6”, every 12 months. We replace our filter every 6 months because we have a little dog and live near a gravel road. Every furnace, living condition, and environment is different. Take that into consideration when deciding how often you should change your filter. If you are still unsure, just look at your filter every month to see if it is dirty; if so, replace it. Keep that time frame in mind, was it 3, 6, or 9 months? That will tell you how often you should replace your filter.

DigiKey stocks 320 different 3M Filtrete options/sizes for you. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us on DigiKey’s TechForum.