Some Things To Consider When Selecting Your Air Conditioner Filter
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Changing your air conditioner filter is one of the most important things you can do to keep your equipment working at peak efficiency. These filters should be changed at least very three to six months. Many contractors recommend every month but this is a bit excessive unless you have severe allergies or live in a very dusty environment. In this case you should use a very efficient air conditioner filter.
There are many factors that determine how long you should wait between filter changes. If you wait too long, equipment efficiency begins to decline and operating costs go up. Changing your filter too often can become expensive especially if you are using good quality filters.
It is important to keep in mind that the more efficient your air conditioner filter is the more often it will have to be cleaned or replaced. For most people, pleated filters will do an adequate job. These filters are ten to sixty percent efficient and some manufacturers claim even higher efficiencies.
Generally, pleated air conditioner filters should be changed between 3 and 6 months, depending on how dusty your area is. Things like construction or living near dirt roads can make it necessary to change them more often.
If you suffer from allergies and require cleaner air than a pleated filter can provide you can use electrostatic, electronic or even HEPA filters.
Electrostatic filters probably offer the best combination of value and efficiency. You will pay between two to six times what a good quality disposable filter would cost but you just wash them with water when they become dirty and they are ready to be used again.
Electronic filters will never become dirty enough to effect airflow. They just become inefficient and there ability to remove dust from the air deminishes. To clean these filters you have to remove the electronic cells and soak them in something like HVAC cleaner and then rinse them and let them dry.
The most efficient filters available for home use are HEPA filters. These filters are extremely efficient but can cause too much restriction to air flow in a heating or cooling unit which can lead to operating problems. These filters should be used only if you require the cleanest air possible and they will need to be changed at least every month and maybe more
Economy panel filters that you can get from your local hardware store are probably the worst type of filters that you could possibly use in your air conditioner. These are the ones that you could almost read a book through. These filters are at the bottom of the list, when it comes to efficiency.
These filters are so inadequate that you could probably keep one in your ac unit for a year before it would collect enough dust to effect its efficiency. Unfortunatly most dust passes through these filters and builds up on the evaporator coil.
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