Turning on your furnace isn’t enough to keep your house warm in the wintertime. It’s also important to close all of the storm windows, storm doors, and seal any gaps that may cause chilly drafts. Unfortunately, even if your home is kept immaculately clean, recirculated air will decline in quality.
In order to remove the dust and other debris from your home’s air, you may want to install an air cleaner or filtration system. Most people aren’t aware of the difference between them, so here is some basic information to help you decide.
Air passes through a physical filter prior to returning to the furnace. The main goal of air filtration is to keep the HVAC system from accumulating dirt that cause performance and safety problems. The holes in the filter are relatively large, so they are unlikely to prevent allergic reactions to dust and other small airborne particles. If allergies are a serious concern, you can find filters that trap small dust mites. Filters with high MERV ratings will increase your utility costs substantially.
Air cleaners are more effective at removing smaller particles, so they protect your health at the same time as keeping the debris out of the HVAC system. These are able to remove as much as 99 percent of the detritus from the air, regardless of particle size.
Which is Right for You?
Every HVAC system should have an air cleaner or an air filtration system in place to run at optimal efficiency and prevent damage, but both of them will serve that purpose. If you or anybody in your family has respiratory problems or suffers from allergies, the air cleaner is a better choice.
Ace Hardware Home Services is proud to have been serving the Dayton, Ohio area for over 30 years. If you are still not sure whether an air filtration system or an air cleaning system is best for your needs, give us a call today. We will be happy to help you!
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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