What MERV rating should I use?

In general, the best MERV rating for a home is somewhere between 8-10. These filters will capture a large portion of the airborne particles and improve indoor air quality without making your energy costs rise significantly.

Is MERV 13 too high?

Filters within a MERV rating of 17-20 are almost never necessary in a residential home. A MERV rating of 13-16 is considered hospital level air quality, so it is unlikely your home needs any more than that.

What is MERV rating for Covid?

What kind of filter should I use in my home HVAC system to help protect my family from COVID-19? Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values, or MERV, reports a filter’s ability to capture particles. Filters with MERV-13 or higher ratings can trap smaller particles, including viruses.

Is a MERV 13 filter too restrictive?

MERV 13 air filters are the highest-rated air filters for home use. Any air filter with a rating higher than 13 will restrict air flow to the point of which could cause damage to your HVAC system, resulting in an added expense to fix it.

What MERV rating is HEPA?

High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters are not MERV-rated, but a HEPA filter is typically considered as MERV 17 to 20, which is the highest group in MERV ratings.

What MERV rating can my HVAC handle?

The EPA recommends MERV ratings of 9-12 because it is the most effective at keeping your home’s air clean. A filter with this rating will prevent particulates as small as 1 micron from entering your HVAC system. This rating qualifies as HEPA (high-efficiency particulate absorption) level.

What does MERV 12 mean?

A filter with a MERV rating of nine to 12 captures particles greater than one micrometer. This includes most dust and common pollutants. Hospital laboratories and superior residential air conditioners fall within this range.

Is MERV 11 or 13 better?

The MERV 13 is less popular and is the highest rating that is recommended for residential use. Anything above 13 is mainly used for commercial/industrial purposes. A MERV 11 rated furnace filter can trap the majority of harmful contaminants that are present in the air.

Is MERV 8 or 11 better?

A MERV 11 rated filter captures 85% or better of particles between the sizes of 0.3 and 10 microns. This may not seem like a significant difference compared to the MERV 8 filter, but a MERV 11 is also more capable of capturing between 65% and 79% of smaller particles. For pet owners specifically, a MERV 8 vs.

Is MERV 11 too restrictive?

In most cases, a MERV 11 air filter isn’t too high for residential use. Generally speaking, anything under a MERV 13 air filter should provide very efficient air purification in a home without impacting airflow.

What is a MERV filter?

Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values, or MERVs, report a filter’s ability to capture larger particles between 0.3 and 10 microns (µm). The higher the MERV rating the better the filter is at trapping specific types of particles.

Does MERV 16 filter coronavirus?

(One study found it to be between . 07 and . 09 μm.) The diagram below demonstrates that MERV 16 filters trap up to 96% of virus-sized particles*, to help prevent the proliferation of airborne viruses in the home.

Is MERV 11 better than 12?

Luckily, MERV 11-rated filters handle those particles — such as pet hair and dust mites — with ease. Likewise, MERV 12 filters catch about the same types of particles. The difference between 11 and 12, therefore, is quite negligible. We do not carry MERV 12; MERV 11 does just as good a job.

Can I put a MERV 13 filter in my furnace?

The ideal MERV filters for both air filtering and furnace efficiency are 7-13, experts say. These filters can be used without any modifications to your equipment. Your system may handle MERV 14-16 with no discernable stress. However, many residential systems require modifications to pull air through these filters.

Is MERV 10 good?

A filter with a MERV rating of around 10 to 12 is sufficient to remove most allergy-causing particles from your home’s air.

Can HVAC filter Covid?

Portable air cleaners and HVAC filters can reduce indoor air pollutants, including viruses, that are airborne. By themselves, portable air cleaners and HVAC filters are not enough to protect people from the virus that causes COVID-19.

Is HEPA the same as MERV?

HEPA Filters

HEPA air filters are not MERV rated as they exceed the ASHRAE test protocol 52.2 used in determining the MERV ratings. In fact, HEPA air filters are the ONLY mechanical air filters that are tested and certified to meet a specific efficiency at a specific particle size.

What is a MERV 15 filter?

MERV 15 furnace filters are highly efficient filters that ensure high purity in your air. These filters capture particles that are . 30-1.0 microns in size (a human hair is 60-100 microns wide). While catching dust and all other larger particles, there filters catch all bacteria, Proplet Nuceli, and most Tobacco smoke.