Lone Star Cooling and Heating
Get help with Air Filtration & Purification
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Call (325) 219-0005Filters and air cleaners matched to the system they sit in, from standard filters to deeper media cabinets and electronic cleaners, with attention to the airflow a denser filter can cost.
01Air filtration
Most filtering complaints come down to a filter that fits poorly, catches too little or holds back too much air.
A filter that loads up quickly may simply be working hard in a dusty building, but it can also mean gaps in the return ducts are drawing extra dirt in. Either way, a clogged filter chokes the airflow the system depends on.
Dirt streaks around the filter frame or a dusty indoor coil mean air is slipping past the filter rather than through it. A filter that fits its slot and a sealed filter door close that gap, and they come before any upgrade is worth making.
Thin fiberglass filters are made mainly to protect the blower and coil, and they let much of the fine dust and pollen through. A pleated filter with a higher MERV rating, or a deeper media filter, captures more of the particles that settle on furniture.
A filter too restrictive for the system makes the blower work harder and moves less air, which can cost heating or cooling and even freeze a coil. A technician can measure the pressure across the filter and suggest more filter area that captures well without choking the system.
Occasional snapping can happen as larger particles hit the charged cells, but frequent arcing or a cleaner that has stopped working altogether usually means the collector cells are overdue for washing or a part has failed.
02Which kind
All three sit in the return air path. They differ in what they catch, how much air they cost and the upkeep they ask for.
The thin filter in a return grille or a slot at the equipment. Fiberglass versions protect the blower and coil but catch little fine dust, and pleated versions catch more. Because its surface is small, a highly rated filter in this thickness can restrict airflow on many systems, and it clogs quickly.
A cabinet fitted beside the equipment holds a pleated filter several inches deep. All that folded surface lets it capture fine particles while resisting air less than a thin filter of the same rating, and it usually lasts much longer between changes. Adding one means altering the return ductwork at the equipment.
A high-voltage section charges passing particles and collects them on metal plates, catching fine dust with little resistance to airflow while it is clean. The cells need washing on a regular schedule or performance falls away, and some designs release a small amount of ozone.
Air Filtration & Purification
Serving Abilene, TX.
03The trade-off
Every filter is a balance between what it catches and how easily air passes through it.
Every furnace or air handler blower is designed around a limited amount of resistance to the air it pushes. A filter adds to that resistance, and a finer or dirtier filter adds more. Once the total goes past what the system was designed for, airflow drops, which can mean weaker cooling, an iced coil, or a furnace that overheats and shuts itself down.
That is why area matters as much as rating. Spreading the same filter material over a deeper cabinet or a second return lowers the resistance, so a finer filter can work without starving the system. A technician measures the pressure across the filter before and after a change, which shows whether an upgrade is helping or quietly hurting.
04What changes the answer
The best filter for one system can be the wrong one for another. These are what a technician looks at.
Systems with small or single returns have little room for filter surface, which limits how fine a filter they can take. More return area or a deeper cabinet opens up better options.
A variable-speed blower speeds up to hold its airflow against a denser filter, using more energy to do it, while an older fixed-speed blower simply moves less air. Both are affected, in different ways.
A filter only cleans air that passes through it, so it does nothing while the blower is off. Running the fan more gives steadier filtering, but it adds energy use and filter changes, and in humid weather it can return moisture from the coil to the rooms.
Gaps around the filter frame, a missing filter door or leaky return ducts let unfiltered air reach the blower and coil. Sealing those comes before any upgrade, since a better filter cannot clean air that never reaches it.
05Questions
It depends on the system as much as the goal. A higher MERV rating captures smaller particles but restricts more air, and not every blower or return can handle that. A technician can check the airflow and the filter area and suggest the finest filter the system runs comfortably with.
It varies with the filter depth, pets, dust, nearby construction and how long the system runs. Thin filters generally need changing far more often than deep media filters. Checking it monthly at first, and changing it when it looks loaded, shows the right interval for that building.
Some cleaners that use a high-voltage charge release a small amount of ozone as a by-product, and the amount varies by design. Ozone is itself an air pollutant indoors, so devices sold to generate it on purpose are not a way to clean the air. Media filters release none.
What the system is doing, when it started, what the thermostat is set to and what it reads, and whether the outdoor unit is running. The age of the equipment and a photo of its label help a technician arrive prepared.
Lone Star Cooling and Heating
Call Lone Star Cooling and Heating, have us call you, or describe the issue.
Prefer to talk?
Call (325) 219-0005