Your home should be an oasis. When it starts to get cold outside, we know that you start doing your best to make sure that you have quality care for your heating services. This should start with your home’s filter. This is when we want you to get to know more about MERV ratings and filters.
We can help you with everything including heating repair in Minnetonka, MN, to informative articles concerning your indoor air quality care. This is because when we say that we’re comprehensive professionals, we really mean it. We want you to understand your heating services inside and out. Let’s get started with a quick crash course below.
The Meaning of MERV
We’re going to start off with what a MERV rating means. MERV stands for the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value. MERV is a rating system that was designed by the American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers. You might have heard of this society more commonly referred to as ASHRAE.
What the rating breaks down is the size of particles that any given filter can capture. The range of the rating goes from 1 to 20. What you should know is that the large the number, the better the filter is at catching small particles.
What MERV Rating Is Right for You?
Okay, so the larger the number, the more particles a filter is catching. That means that you want the highest number possible, right? This isn’t necessarily true. Bigger isn’t always better especially when you’re talking about finding the right filter for a home. In general, we typically recommend filters that range in between a 1-12 rating for residential homes. Anything above this is typically meant for hospitals or commercial operations. We’ll break down the range for you below.
A 1-4 Rating: This typically filters pollen, dust mites, sanding dust, carpet fibers, etc. and is commonly used in residential window AC units.
A 5-8 Rating: This level of filter can weed out mold, spurs, cat and dog dander, and dust mite debris. This type of filter is commonly found in higher-level residential spaces, general commercial spaces, and industrial workspaces.
A 9-12 Rating: This typically filters humidifier dust, lead dust, milled flour, and more. It’s commonly found in superior residential, higher-level commercial, and hospital laboratories.
A 13-16 Rating: This range of filters can filter away bacteria, cooking oil, smoke, insecticide dust, face powder, and paint pigments. It’s good for hospitals and rooms where general surgery occurs.
A 17-20 Rating: A filter within this range works to eliminate viruses, carbon dust, sea salt, and smoke. You can find these filters in electronics and pharmaceutical manufacturing cleanrooms.
Make Sure You Get Professional Service
Even the perfect filter isn’t going to solve your problems with a snap of your fingers. You need a team of professionals to install this filter for you. We recommend that you do all of your indoor air quality and furnace work with professionals because we’re the only ones who genuinely understand the backing this work requires. Our experience and training ensure that we’re going to get the process right too.
Contact Residential Heating and Air Conditioning today to schedule an appointment with our team members.