Video: Assessing Filter Options

EL CERRITO — Host, Sarah Rutan: In maintaining your HVAC system, there are multiple options for filters you can use. Today, we’re in El Cerrito with Diamond Certified Expert Contributor Tim Hassler of Hassler Heating & Air Conditioning to learn more.

Diamond Certified Expert Contributor, Tim Hassler: Until recently, it was industry standard to install these one-inch fiberglass filters for your heating system. These filters do have some problems. They are very inefficient, they are really only good at filtering out very large particles.

This is actually an example of a Merv 13 filter that we recommend upgrading to. It’s a four inch pleated filter and it does an excellent job of filtering out most dust particles and pollen. At least 60 times more efficient in filtering out particles.

For those of you that have problems with allergies, you might want to consider an air purifier. This is an example of one and it has a pleated filter and an electrostatic filter so this does an excellent job of filtering out down to the size of viruses and even bacteria.

Another important consideration is to make sure you do change your filter regularly. If you are using the system a lot, you may have to change the filter as often as once every one or two months. If you use it very rarely, maybe its once a year but its something you should monitor because the system is going to operate much better if you do have a clear filter.

Host, Sarah Rutan: To learn more from local, top-rated companies, visit our Diamond Certified Expert Reports at experts.diamondcertified.org.