09/04/2025
Story time! 📖
Some of you may be scratching your head right now wondering why this says filters aren’t for you, but for your equipment. In reality, the filters we put in our homes are there to keep debris from making its way to the indoor coil. Over time, if too much dust and debris makes its way to the indoor coil it will clog it, freeze the unit up and remove the system’s ability to cool your home. I’ve posted pictures on here before of indoor coils completely clogged due to lack of filtration. Resolving a clogged indoor coil can become costly, depending on how severely it’s clogged and what method has to be used to get it cleaned properly.
There are better means of cleaning and purifying the air in your home, other than these 1” filters, that won’t take away the efficiency of your system. More on that in just a bit. The two images I’ve added to this post are to show the two most commonly bought filters by homeowners. As you can see, one is marked ✅ and the other is marked ❌. The filters I recommend are the ones with the ✅, they allow better airflow for the system and they catch particulates just as well as the other. Disregard all of the additional promoted benefits of the filter marked ❌, those are there to make the cost difference seem worth it to the buyer.
My conclusion about which filter type is better isn’t based on opinion only. I’ve done tests with both of these filters to get solid evidence as to why I say these things. Using an anemometer to test air speed/velocity, I found a substantial difference in flow between both filter types. The filter marked ❌ had an air speed loss of around 400cfm compared to filter ✅. That equates to 1 Ton of air loss being supplied to your system! If your system is a 3 Ton, you’re essentially only giving it enough air to breathe for a 2 Ton. Just like a human body, lack of proper oxygen causes negative side effects. Loss of airflow to an AC unit drops its capacity, puts strain on all major system components and leads to premature failure over time. Then, take into account the filter not being changed regularly and you’ve reduced its airflow even more.
There are, of course, more scientific and mathematical variables that you can compare between the two, but these cliff notes will give you enough understanding to see which of the two are the better buy.
Now, for the other options of making the air in your home much better outside of system filtration. You can add a whole home ionizer to purify the air, UV sterilization systems and upgraded media filters that are designed to increase filtration but maintain proper airflow. If any of those perk your interest, feel free to reach out and I will send over the literature of those for you to review.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk 😬