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Air Filters for Business to Business Education

Selecting a Filter How do you know which filter will best suit your intake system’s needs while being cost-effective? Here are some factors to consider when making your decision: Efficiency is key when selecting a filter. How clean do you want the air to be? Is the filter going to protect a clean room atmosphere or is the filter there simply to protect the parts and the motor of the intake system? Once you have answered that question, then you can make a decision . . . there are two important test methods that can help you narrow your choices. One is ASHRAE 52.1 that determines a filter’s ability to remove particulate matter as well as protecting your intake system’s parts and motor. Another method is ASHRAE 52.2 that will determine a filter’s ability to get rid of a particular contaminant with a specified particle size. Another helpful tool is the MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) rating The MERV Rating will give you a worst-case scenario for the lowest amount of efficiency you can expect from your filter. This MERV System also measures the size of the particles a filter can trap. The scale that the MERV System uses can range from a MERV 1 to a MERV 16 (95%+ ASHRAE filter). The MERV System is an excellent tool when you know which contaminants you want to have filtered. Media area is important to consider as well. There are many types of filters available . . . flat panel filters, pleated filters, box/cartridge filters, ring panel filters and bag filters. Click here (hyperlink to another page with "definitions") to see the pros and cons of each of these types of filters. A factor to keep in mind is "pressure drop". Low pressure drop is discussed on the Energy/Operational Savings page. Basically, a pressure drop can be determined by measuring the flow of air before it is filtered and after it is filtered. If there is a low pressure drop, then the motor driving the fan will not have to run as often. Therefore, your intake system will require less energy to run resulting in a lower cost. The initial price of the filter and changeout labor should be taken into consideration also. If a filter has a higher dust holding capacity, then it typically lasts longer making the initial cost and time spent changing the filter spread out over 2, even 3 years.

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