Choosing Efficient Air Filters

Have you noticed a sudden upsurge of sneezing, coughing, or other allergy attack symptoms within your home? If so then you probably need to change the air filter on your HVAC system. Keep in mind that choosing efficient air filters, which is what you want to do in this situation, requires a bit more effort than simply going to your local home improvement store. Here are a few things that you should keep in mind.

• Know the size. An important part of choosing efficient air filters is to make sure that you choose one that will work for your particular unit. This means that you need to know the size of air filter you can use for your particular HVAC unit. Usually all you need to do to find this information is look at the existing air filter and see what size it is. If the existing air filter does not have a readily seen size, then take a look on the door to the air filter compartment. On this panel you can usually find some rather important information that will include the filter size for your particular HVAC unit.
• Look for energy efficiency. Take the size information that you now have, and go to your local home improvement store. There you will find a variety of different air filters, and while many will work, most will not work for what you want. Take a look at the energy efficient models that are on sale. These are the ones that you will want to continue looking at since they are designed to be the most energy efficient in how they capture the particulates that are within the air, and purifies it. Find the ones that have the highest energy ratings before you continue making your choice.
• Check the ratings. Take a look at the filtration ratings that typically come with these types of units. Make sure that you know what the usable ratings for your particular HVAC model are, and if you don't know look up the model on line to ensure that you find the correct rating range. If you are looking for the best filters you will want one that meets the HEPA requirements.
• One time vs. reusable. You can often find one time useable units, or ones that are reusable. Either one will work just as well, the question is a matter of cost efficiency. The single use models are typically lower costing initially, though the cost of purchasing a new one every six months can quickly add up. The reusable ones are initially more expensive, but over the long run are more cost efficient if you clean them regularly. The choice of which one to use is up to you.

Once you have finished choosing efficient air filters that you can use in your home, you need to then change it out. This is a rather simple operation in most cases, and is something that most homeowners can accomplish. Usually all you really need to do is remove the old one, and then place the new one in properly. Most, if not all, HVAC units have instructions on the door to where the filter is located. If there is not, then take a look at the packaging for the filter to find the instructions. Simply follow those instructions and you will be able to change the filter without too much (if any) problems.