Pleated Air Filters Are By Far A Better Choice For Your Air Conditioner Or Furnace Than Spun Fibreglass Panel Filters

HVAC pleated air filters are one of the three best performing panel type furnace filters available for you to choose from. These filters are made with a material that is folded into pleats. This pleated filter material is used to produce 1 inch, 2 inch, 4 inch, 5 inch and even 6 inch deep, pleated air filters. The most common sizes used in air conditioning and heating eqipment are 1 inch and 2 inch.

Folding the filter material into pleats increases the surface area of the filter and extends the useful life of the filter. If the filter material were used as a flat surface without being pleated it would clog with dust in a matter of days. This would lead to a decline in system performance and could even cause equipment failure if it wasn't changed.

It is important to monitor pleated air filters and change them when required so they do not become plugged with too much dust and restrict airflow through your heating or cooling equipment. Follow manufacturers reccomendations.

Pleated Air Filter Efficiencies Vary Greatly

Most pleated air filters are 20 - 30 percent efficient and have a MERV 5 rating. This of course depends on the material used in the construction of the filter. Nordic Pure manufactures a pleated air filter with a MERV 12 rating which means it is over 90 percent efficient. This is a very high rating for a pleated filter. They are able to attain this very high rating by incorporating an electrostatic filter material in the pleated design.

Some pleated air filters have a wire mesh on one side of the filter. This is to help the filter maintain its shape and not collapse under the pressure from air passing thru it. The more efficient types do not always have this wire mesh because the filter material is rigid enough to hold their shape.

Unless you suffer from severe allergies, a pleated air filter will do a very good job of filtering the air that passes through your heating and cooling equipment.

Some furnace and air conditioning filters are not very efficient and will only trap the largest of dust particles, while others such as the electrostatic air filter will remove over 97 percent of household allergens from the air that passes through it.

There are many different types of panel air filters available but many are not worth using in your air conditioner or furnace because they are very inefficient. The worst of these and unfortunatesly most commonly used are the disposable fibreglass types. These types of filters are a waste money. The purchase price may be lower but the real cost is poor air quality and higher equipment maintenance costs.

The dust that passes through this type of air filter will end up on your furniture and in the duct system. If this media air filter is in an air conditioner or heat pump system, dust will eventually build up on the surface and between the fins of the evaporator coil and restrict airflow. Under certain conditions this can actually lead to equipment breakdown.

Although standard pleated air filters will do an adequate job of reducing dust in your home they do not work as efficiently as media air filters or electrostatic furnace filters. Nordic Pure pleated air filters are at the high end of the pleated filter category and hold their own when compared to most other filters.