Is Your House Dusty? It Might Be Your HVAC System

Most homes across Colorado use a gas-forced heating and cooling system. It’s one of the most efficient ways to heat and cool your home.

To ensure it works effectively, it’s essential to have a clean air filter inside, filtering out dust, pollen, and other particulates. Your inside air quality depends on its use. The dirtier your air filter is, the more dust is allowed to blow throughout your system, and into the rooms of your home.

Air filters are essential to a well maintained HVAC system. But beware; not all air filters are the same. Here’s what you should know about air filters, and how they help to keep your home dust-free.

When to change an air filter
Every HVAC system comes with recommended guidelines for changing out your air filter. Understand, these are simply guidelines. This is what’s recommended to keep your HVAC system working at its best, and to ensure you keep your warranty valid. That doesn’t mean you might not have to change more frequently.

An air filter’s job is to trap small particles. A cleaner air filter is going to be able to do that better. But there’s another indicator you
should pay attention to. The MERV rating.

What a MERV rating does for your home
MERV stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value. A higher MERV rating means it has more power to filter out small particles. You’ll find MERV ratings from 1 to 20. That’s a pretty wide range, especially when all you want is to buy the best product that gives you the best results. Why wouldn’t everyone want a 20?

Not every place needs the same type of filtration. What’s needed in a hospital isn’t necessarily required in your home. The higher the MERV rating, the more particles it cleans out. But that also means the faster it clogs with dust. That reduces the air flow, and can mean a dirtier air supply for you, especially if you don’t change it out regularly.

Stick with the guidelines from your HVAC system’s manufacturer. And if you do go with a higher rated filter, be sure to change it more often to ensure it stays clean.

Have questions about keeping your air supply clean and your HVAC system running its best? We’re here to help. Give us a call today.