“It’s a useful method to observe the stress drop throughout the filter—this can be a good approach to know when it is the fitting time to vary the filter as a result of in any other case, there may be lots of guessing work,” Li says. She says the standard three-month alternative advice is predicated on the idea of a 20 % runtime of your HVAC system (about 5 hours a day). A lot of this is dependent upon your local weather, however Li says a recent study discovered the median HVAC runtime of 20 houses over a 12 months in Toronto was 10 %, that means these of us would be capable of exchange their filters much less typically.
As for the decision on the MERV 13, Li says {that a} greater move resistance will make the HVAC fan work more durable. Relying in your system, the fan may cease working as laborious, reducing airflow and doubtlessly damaging the cooling coils. Nevertheless, the next MERV score doesn’t equal the next move resistance. It is dependent upon the filter high quality, as Li says she has seen MERV 13 filters with decrease move resistance than a MERV 8. Finally, Li says the principle issue is the age of your HVAC system.
“If this can be a comparatively new system in good situation, and you’ve got been utilizing MERV 8 filters with no drawback, then I do not suppose there shall be any hassle utilizing MERV 11, MERV 13, and even MERV 14 filters simply because even when there’s a distinction within the move resistance, it is comparatively small,” she says. “I feel most techniques will be capable of deal with that, particularly should you do not change your filter for your entire 12 months.”
People with older techniques ought to be cautious, as they could not be capable of deal with high-efficiency filters in any respect. She suggests listening to the sound and feeling the move coming from the cooling and heating vents in your house.
The excellent news is that Woosh’s sensible filter can detect issues together with your HVAC system. The corporate says it might determine early indicators of coil freezing, which if left unaddressed could cause irreparable injury. It manages this by checking stress drop and move fee together with the temperature and humidity ranges.
Fortunately, utilizing a MERV 13 filter does not appear to trigger any hostile results on my system and I have not obtained any notifications about issues with my HVAC. My solely concern is that, in line with the app, I nonetheless need not change my filter though it has been 9 months since I put in it. My pockets is pleased, however every part I’ve heard and examine filters suggests I ought to have modified it by now.