Furnace Filter Rating System

In general filters with a rating of merv 16 or below are considered to be hvac system grade filters for residential commercial and general hospital use.

Furnace filter rating system. To determine resistance filters use the merv rating system. If we were looking to buy a new filter today for our hvac heating ventilation and air conditioning system we d aim for a medium efficiency filter with a merv rating in the 8 to 13 range which. Many homes use filters with a merv rating of 1 4 which mostly filter out dust lint and pollen among other larger common particles they do very little to trap small microparticles. Merv filter ratings and efficiency.

The rating indicates the size of particles the air filter is designed to capture. With the correct merv rating and a pleated design this furnace filter improves the efficiency of your hvac system. The home depot air filter performance rating system fpr ranks all brands of filters the home depot sells by measuring their ability to capture large and small particles. Merv 17 through merv 20 filters are typically used in surgical operating rooms clean rooms and other contexts that require absolute cleanliness.

If your filter is either too dirty or too resistant it can cause airflow problems hurting efficiency and performance. The filter traps smog bacteria dust debris mold viruses and various other respiratory irritants. Fpr ratings are on a scale from 4 through 10. It also factors in the weight gain caused by the filtration process over the filter s lifetime.

The other two systems were created by 3m mpr and the home depot fpr to differentiate their offerings. The merv filter rating is the domestic and international industry standard rating system established by the american society of heating refrigerating and air conditioning engineers. The filtrete ultra allergen reduction 1500 mpr filter earns a very good rating for removing smoke dust and pollen from the air with the system running on a high fan speed but is only. Merv rating is essential for finding the proper furnace filter for your home.

In short the higher the merv rating is the more resistant the filter is.