The Three Types of Air Filters - Facility Management IAQ Feature

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Filter Facts: IAQ and Efficiency

Part 1: The Three Types of Air Filters
Part 2:

HVAC's Impact on IAQ and Energy Efficiency

The Three Types of Air Filters

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By Philip Winterland - October 2009 -

IAQ

The air-filtration industry has seen its share of changes over the last decade.
Manufacturers have created new products that not only have improved indoor air
quality (IAQ) but also have reduced the cost of installing and operating air-filtration
equipment in commercial and institutional facilities.
Besides technology improvements, industry organizations are adopting standards,
guidelines and requirements that promote healthy IAQ. Debate continues on the
impact IAQ can have on building occupants, including whether productivity and
overall occupant health improves as air quality improves.
As maintenance and engineering managers continue to focus on IAQ and its impact
on their facilities and occupants, manufacturers are providing them with more
efficient HVAC systems and components, including air filters. These technology
advances include reduced pressure drops and improved filter efficiency, as well as
smaller fans and motors, due to the reduced pressure drop across the filters.

Types of Filters
When the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning
Engineers (ASHRAE) introduced IAQ standards, it signaled an important change in
the air-filtration industry. ASHRAE has been promoting the adoption of the
minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) system to standardize definitions of
efficiencies.
MERV measures a filter's arrestance a filter's ability to remove large airborne
particles from the air and dust-spot efficiency its ability to remove small
airborne particles and assigns a number based on the filter's ability to remove
the particles. Several types of air filters are common in commercial HVAC systems:
Fiberglass filter. This throwaway air filter is the most common type. Layered
fiberglass fibers are laid over each other to form the filter media and typically are
reinforced with a metal grating that supports the fiberglass to prevent failure and
collapse.

11-12-2014 05:18 PM

The Three Types of Air Filters - Facility Management IAQ Feature

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High efficiency particulate arrestance (HEPA) filters. These units filter the air
passing through them at a very fine scale. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
and its contractors use HEPA filters that meet DOE standard STD-3020-97,
Specification for HEPA Filters Used by DOE Contractors, to filter 99.97 percent of all
particles 0.3 microns or larger.
Washable air filters. These products are not as common and rely on the build-up
of dust along the cloth to improve the efficiency of the filter. Industrial processes
involving high volumes of coarse dust are typical applications.
Because filters are fairly simple they essentially are porous membranes that
allow air to flow through them little change has occurred to improve problems
associated with air pressure drop and its impact on energy efficiency.
Next

Filter Facts: IAQ and Efficiency

Part 1: The Three Types of Air Filters
Part 2:

HVAC's Impact on IAQ and Energy Efficiency

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Posting as Gourang Paul (Change)

Mulat Denberie MEng at Students Of Mechanical Engineering

thank you . but what are the cost of the three types of air filters? that means each individual cost
Reply Like Follow Post Edited May 22 at 1:50pm
Himayath Ullah Muffakham Jah College of Engineering and Technology
Unfortunatly All Panel type washable metalic filters are rated for ASHRAE MERV 6. Above this rating
are Disposable. Hope by the adent of New Technology in future, Fine filters and High Efficieny
Particulate filters can also be made Re-usable type. Sounds Sustainable right!
Reply Like

1 Follow Post December 28, 2012 at 11:01pm

Himayath Ullah Muffakham Jah College of Engineering and Technology

ASHRAE MERV16 [Rigid Bag Type] is minimum equivalent of High Efficiency filter [HEPA] (H10,
H11....) in accordance with EN 1822.
Reply Like Follow Post December 28, 2012 at 11:05pm
Himayath Ullah Muffakham Jah College of Engineering and Technology
There are Three types of filters (Filteration levels) used in HVAC Air handlers: [1] Pre filter, [2] After
Filter and Last but not least [3] Final Filter. E.g of [1] & [2] in accordance with ASHRAE Rating
(MERV) , Pre-Filter-MERV 6, After Filter as a Bag or Mini Pleated Filter-MERV 13 and /or 15, and E.g
of [3] in accordance with European Standard (EN) Designates H13 and H14 as a Final Filter or / as a
HEPA Filter. used in AHU's and Laminar Flow Diffusers (LFD) for Health care jobs.
Reply Like Follow Post December 14, 2012 at 2:24am
Timothy Ngobi

Follow Servant at Church

thank you but what about the electric precipitators.

Reply Like Follow Post November 13, 2012 at 3:06pm
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The Three Types of Air Filters - Facility Management IAQ Feature

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http://www.facilitiesnet.com/iaq/article/The-Three-Types-of-Air-Filters...

11-12-2014 05:18 PM