Friday February 10th 2012

Are expensive air conditioning filters worth the money?

I put a new A/C system in my house. I want to keep it in good shape for years to come. The air intake filters range in price from $0.88 to more than $10. Are the more expensive filters worth the extra money? I don’t have any serious allergies. So, I’m not particularly worried about removing pollen from the air. I am concerned with keeping my evaporator coils clean.

5 Comments for “Are expensive air conditioning filters worth the money?”

  • Greg says:

    i would look for a pleated filter(has ridges), anything beyond that will probably be unnecessary for you. Pleated filters have more surface area than a standard filter does, Check and change the filter before its clogged and your evap coil should stay clean for a long time!

    TIP: write the date on the filter so you know how long its been in there and get in the habit of changing it every 3 months, its a good way of doing it.

  • David P says:

    I bought the electrostatic kind of filter. This filter cost me about $65. The good thing is that you just pull it out and back rinse it with a garden hose. I have also noticed less dust in my house since switching. d

  • dadcat00759 says:

    Greg has the right idea pleated filters are the smart choice they are generally around three or four dollars and will do the best job of keeping your evap. coil clean.

  • mike b says:

    Some of those expensive filters are bad news. They don’t allow enough air flow. You will do much more harm to your system restricting air flow than dust on the coil.

    Good old fiberglass or pleated fiber filters are the best thing for your system.

  • Carolina Airworks says:

    There isn’t a particularly great answer to this question since everyone uses their space differently, and different needs require different solutions. For our customers, we recommend that they buy cheap, .20 air filters and replace them twice a year, along with using an electronic air purifier on the indoor unit. Usually, these sell for no more than $300, but they save a myriad of problems. First, the cabinet air filters, as they are called, are much, much larger and more effective than return filters. Some even have UV lights to kill bacteria. They also don’t restrict airflow as much as a return filter. Also, they are less maintenance. Some never need to be replaced, the most laborious ones need to be cleaned once a year. You don’t even need return air filters with that system, however they are still a great idea to catch large particles (hair, sawdust, etc.).

    The more expensive pleated filters can be great, however, they are by far the reason for most of our service calls. The reason is, they restrict far too much airflow when dirty. A regular blue filter can be completely dirty, and still not freeze your indoor coil. The same cannot be said about pleated filters. We recommend pleated filters be changed once a month during summer to prevent freezing the coil.

    In our opinion, it makes more financial sense to buy the electronic air purifier and then buy the cheap filters. After you replace 35 filters, it pays for itself, and it is far more effective. No pleated filter can kill bacteria!

    Hope it helps, good luck with your system.


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