Basics on Furnace Filter MERV Ratings

When it comes to the quality of air in your home, furnace filters are a vital factor. These filters, which help remove contaminants and other particles from your air as it flows through your HVAC system, come in several varieties.

At Airtime Heating & Cooling, our furnace service includes a full range of expertise on furnace filters. The biggest factor here? Your MERV rating, which speaks to the fineness of particles that will be caught by a given filter. Let’s go over the basic range of MERV ratings, and which is right for you.

Number Ranges

MERV ratings, which stand for “minimum efficiency reporting value,” range from 1 to 20. Here are the basic ranges:

• MERV 1-4: Filters that catch large particles like dust, mites, pollen, carpet fibers, insects, and various pieces of insect waste. Most common for residential HVAC systems.
• MERV 5-8: Catch finer particles, mold spores, pet dander and aerosol sprays. Used in some homes, and in most commercial areas.
• MERV 9-12: Filters that grab auto emissions, welding fumes, lead dust and certain larger bacteria. These are rarely used in homes.
• MERV 13-16: Heavy-duty filters that catch all ranges of bacteria along with smoke, oil droplets and even sneezing particles. These are mostly used in hospitals and surgical centers.
• MERV 17-20: These catch viruses, carbon dust and the smallest smoke particles. Generally used in clean rooms where sensitive medicines or electronics are produced.

Identifying Your Number

In most cases, as we noted above, residences will use filters with MERV ratings between 1 and 4. If you’ve noticed that your filters aren’t removing allergens or other contaminants as well as you’d like, speak to one of our experts about getting a higher number – without risking any huge cost increases, of course. You also want to be sure you don’t use a filter that has a MERV rating higher than your system’s limit, as this can hurt your energy efficiency and cause expensive fixes in the future

For more on MERV ratings, or to learn about any of our AC repair or HVAC services, speak to the pros at Airtime Heating & Cooling today.