Furnace Filter Rating System

With the correct merv rating and a pleated design this furnace filter improves the efficiency of your hvac system.

Furnace filter rating system.

The other two systems were created by 3m mpr and the home depot fpr to differentiate their offerings. In general filters with a rating of merv 16 or below are considered to be hvac system grade filters for residential commercial and general hospital use. Merv air filter ratings range from 1 least efficient captureability to 16 very efficient. Merv stands for minimum efficiency reporting value which is a rating system designed by the american society of heating refrigerating and air conditioning engineers ashrae.

In short the higher the merv rating is the more resistant the filter is. Many homes use filters with a merv rating of 1 4 which mostly filter out dust lint and pollen among other larger common particles they do very little to trap small microparticles. Merv 17 through merv 20 filters are typically used in surgical operating rooms clean rooms and other contexts that require absolute cleanliness. It also factors in the weight gain caused by the filtration process over the filter s lifetime.

The filtrete ultra allergen reduction 1500 mpr filter earns a very good rating for removing smoke dust and pollen from the air with the system running on a high fan speed but is only. Merv rating is essential for finding the proper furnace filter for your home. The merv filter rating is the domestic and international industry standard rating system established by the american society of heating refrigerating and air conditioning engineers. The home depot air filter performance rating system fpr ranks all brands of filters the home depot sells by measuring their ability to capture large and small particles.

The rating indicates the size of particles the air filter is designed to capture. If your filter is either too dirty or too resistant it can cause airflow problems hurting efficiency and performance. Fpr ratings are on a scale from 4 through 10. It even captures extremely small particles that can negatively affect a person s health.

To determine resistance filters use the merv rating system.