Merv 8 Air Filter Meaning

A low merv rating means that the filter does not remove as many particulates from the air.

Merv 8 air filter meaning.

Think of merv 8 filters as a good option and merv 11 filters as the better option for normal residential use. When the air flow is reduced the air quality in your home can suffer not to mention damage the fan of your furnace. It just means you should use the 8 and change them more often. In this article we ll go into more detail about merv filters and how to choose the right one for your new.

It is an acronym for high efficiency particulate air filter as officially defined by the u s. See screenshot below this filter for sale on the home depot shows fpr 10 as equivalent to either merv 8 or merv 13. Minimum efficiency reporting value merv is a standard that rates the overall effectiveness of air filters. An air filter s merv rating is a scale from 1 16 that describes the minimum efficiency of the air filter.

Hepa is a type of pleated mechanical air filter. This type of air filter can theoretically remove at least 99 97 of dust pollen mold bacteria and any airborne particles with a size of 0 3 microns µm. The merv rating system is intended to be used to determine the filter s ability to remove particulates from the air. The higher the merv rating the smaller the pores are for air to flow through an hvac filter.

For reference a typical dust particle is between 2 and 8 microns while pollen starts at 7 microns and can get up to 70 microns in size. Some filters on their website that have both an fpr and a merv rating and at least one with an fpr of 10 is shown as equivalent to either merv 8 or merv 13. While merv ratings reflect a filter s ability to trap both microscopic and macroscopic particles mpr ratings only grade a filter on its capacity to remove particles from 0 3 to 1 microns. Minimum efficiency reporting value commonly known as merv is a measurement scale designed in 1987 by the american society of heating refrigerating and air conditioning engineers ashrae to report the effectiveness of air filters.

That doesn t mean you can leave a merv 8 filter in for months and months without changing. This can create more resistance in airflow than a system is designed to manage thus making it. As air moves through a building s hvac system air filters trap and collect large and small particles such as dust allergens and microorganisms. Many new jersey homeowners ask us about merv ratings especially when it comes to choosing between merv 8 and merv 11 air filters.

Here s what we tell them. This can lead to inefficiency.