The Importance of Air Conditioning Filters in Providing Clean Air For the Home and Office

Air filters are designed to filter the dust out from the circulating air and exchange it with clean air. So aside from cooling, air conditioning units have a medically advantageous effect on the room. For the air handling unit to be able to continuously cleanse the air and deliver it free from pollutants, it will need a high quality filter. These filters filter out the dirt in the air so that the air returns from the appliance is clean.

The filters are positioned along the grill of the air conditioner so they serve as the last point the air passes before it is released to the room.

You'll start to recognize the importance of filtering your air if you consider the fact that the average person inhales 1.5 million particles of dust a day. The EPA that provides these stats also claims that air inside our houses is more impure than that open air due to the fact that air inside has no chance for dispersion of contaminants.

Air conditioner filters help shield us from evil little things known as respirable particles. You can easily observe particles settle on your coffee table or sofa. Respirable particles are invisible but are nonetheless present in the air. One can easily breathe them in. Once inside our bodies these particles can accumulate in the lungs and can cause serious respiratory illnesses. Air conditioner filters extract these tiny particles so you obtain both visibly cleaner air and a pollen-free atmosphere in your room.

So the demand for high quality A/C air filters becomes paramount. We need to be using them for protection against allergies and contamination.

There are essentially 2 types of furnace air filters - normal throw-away air filters and re-usable washable filters. Of the 4 disposable filters that we tested, the 3m filtrete line came out a clear winner. Of the three re-usable air filters that we recently tested, the Boair 5-stage filter got top marks due to the fact that it was the easiest to clean and filtered out the largest amount of contaminants.

Before you make your order for new A/C filters, you will want to determine if the replacement fits your air handler. It's not enough to simply know the size of the intended replacement; you should be able to determine the function of the air filter as well. For example, there are air conditioner air filters with ultraviolet sterilizers that kill contaminants in the air so they can't make their way into the human body. You might need this kind for crowded rooms. HEPA air filters are well known for screening out microscopic particles from the air so the space remains clear of pollens. These variants serve areas like an office in a smoggy area.

A/C air filters need to be changed over time as they accumulate dust. But as a homeowner how should you decide on which air conditioner air filters to purchase? There are numerous manufacturers but essentially they manufacture the same types of filters. Depending on how they operate, the dominant ones are HEPA which provides pollen (and smoke) filtration, Pleated with a larger surface, Electrostatic which takes advantage of a process that creates static attraction for dust, and Activated Carbon which applies the principle of carbon filtration. Of all these, the Charcoal and the Pleated variants are most common.

Furnace air filters make living rooms safe places to spend our time. They remove dirt from our air and destroy any bacteria that may be around. We need to maintain them often so they keep functioning to protect our health.