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Best Furnace Filters For 2021 [Review Guide]

Your home’s furnace works by having air pumped inside and heated before redistribution. The newly heated air travels through your homes duct system before entering the various rooms of your home. The furnace heats the air until it matches the number of a thermostat and the smooth airflow ensures that there is no dip in temperature. However, the air is not cleansed free of outside pollutants and allergens by this process alone.

The air filters for a furnace are the tools used to clean the air, leaving a furnace before it enters your home. Situated behind the blower fan, the filter traps and absorbs airborne particles before they become an issue. Effective filters protect your home, but they lose effectiveness over time and need maintenance.

Furnace Filter Replacement

A furnace filter keeps indoor air quality up while keeping outside contaminants and allergens out. The air cleansing process leaves the airflow entering the blowing fan cleaner but the filter dirtier. The filter will eventually become covered in so much dirt and debris that the airflow going through it becomes disrupted. A dirty filter brings problems that affect both an air system and your home’s billing.

When a furnace filter is dirty, this leads to problems with the airflow that in turn affect the air coming into your home. When a dirty filter blocks airflow, the result is a slowdown or even stopping of the air. Stopped airflow leads to stagnant, dry air in your home and since the heated air is not traveling there will be temperature fluctuations. The dips in air quality become more noticeable over time along with the increase in your home billing.

When an air system encounters a blockage, then the natural reaction for it is to attempt to go past it. The air system will increase the electricity used in an attempted bypass causing a spike in home energy usage. When your home’s electrical systems are overburdened, it also sees increased energy billing at the end of the month. You may end up experiencing costs that are avoidable by replacing the old filters.

Replacing the Furnace Filter

Your air filters will need periodic replacement, the time frame of which depends on varying factors. The area around your home plays a large part in filter effectiveness. Areas with high levels of allergens and pollutants cause the filter to become dirty faster due to the constant filtration needed. The MERV rating of a filter need consideration when making a replacement schedule.

MERV Rating

MERV ratings are the calculated efficiency values of a filter. Filters consist of a mesh weave designed to trap and absorb airborne irritants coming through the air system. The  MERV rating is dependent on the tightness of its weaving. Home filters have more centered ratings in order to avoid the filter mesh weaves from being too tight and affecting airflow.

Filter King Filters

You will need to replace your filters at regular intervals in order to prevent any complications with airflow and quality from popping up. We offer a furnace filter subscription service that delivers new filters straight to your door ready for use. Furnace filter replacement is quick and easy, with the only remotely difficult part being finding a new filter. Have us send you replacement filters to ensure that your home continues smelling fresh and clean.

Have New Filters Delivered to Your Home

You will need to replace your filters at regular intervals in order to prevent any problems with airflow and quality from popping up. We offer a furnace filter subscription service that delivers new filters straight to your door ready to be used. Furnace filter replacement is quick and easy, with the only remotely difficult part being finding a new filter. Have us send you replacement filters to ensure that your home continues smelling fresh and clean.

Best Furnace Filters Review 

Best furnace filers review

Best Furnace Filters Overview

The best air filters have a MERV rating of 8 to 13. MERV means Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value and refers to how effective the filter is at trapping harmful particulates. The higher the MERV rating the better.

However, most homes, apartments, and condominiums do not need a furnace filter with a MERV rating higher than 13. The reason is that the higher-rated filters have smaller pores to filter out the particulates and that restricts the airflow, which in turn makes the furnace fan work harder. That can result in a higher energy bill and possibly a broken fan that will need replacing. A top-rated furnace filter in the 8 to 13 range is more than adequate for the majority of homes.

Key Features of Furnace Filters

The best-rated furnace filters should be able to filter out the following substances:

Furnace Filters Performance

The best air furnace filters will provide a clean and safe breathing environment for everyone living inside the home by maintaining indoor air quality of a very high standard. According to the EPA, the air inside a home can be more polluted than the air outside of it. A top-rated furnace filter will keep the air inside a home clean and help to protect the respiratory health of everyone within.

The filters for allergies will help to prevent the spread of infection and reduce the attack of allergies by preventing the spread of allergens and pollutants. The best-rated filters will help reduce energy costs by using less energy to draw air through the HVAC system. Efficiency in filtering dangerous particulates and efficiency in energy consumption are the two main qualities to look for in the best home filters.

Best-Rated Filters Recommended Use

  • Households that have members with severe allergy problems
  • Anyone who has recently welcomed a newborn baby into their life
  • Anyone with an immune system compromised by illness
  • Asthmatics who want to avoid any potential triggers to their condition
  • Anyone interested in having and maintaining a clean indoor air standard

 Conclusion

The best-rated furnace filters will remove nearly all of the particulates that can cause infections and trigger allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. They will help to maintain a clean indoor air environment that is perfect for anyone with sensitive lungs and airways such as babies and the immunocompromised.

Regardless of the MERV rating,  filters should be cleaned and changed often so that they do not get clogged and their airflow does not get restricted. That will reduce their efficiency and negate any of the positive attributes of the best-rated filters.

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