How AC Furnace Filters are Made

Overview
Indoor Air Pollutants
Types of Air Filters
Why Our Air Filters are Different

Honeywell Furnace Filters, a division of Shoppers PLUS, has been manufacturing the highest quality, lowest priced standard and custom filters for heating and air conditioning systems since 1950. Below, we have provided you with an overview of the many types of AC Furnace Filters as well as enumerating the many reasons why our AC Furnace Filters are superior!

It is vitally important for you to understand the importance of regular replacement of your air filter. Further, because of the many pollutants prevalent in most all dwellings, it is equally important to emphasize the importance of choosing a highly-efficient air filter. The drawing below illustrates the many pollutants commonly found in the home.

Our filters are rated by an independent rating system established by ASHRAE: The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. The rating system established by ASHRAE is the MERV rating. The higher the MERV rating, typically, the higher the filter's ability to remove pollutants from the air. We have settled on a MERV12 rating because we have found that any filter with a MERV rating higher than MERV12 begins to cause enough friction loss or drag on the HVAC system to result in a significant added cost in equipment operation. And the limited additional filtration offered by such filters normally do not justify the additional operating costs and reduction of system life.

NOTE: The HVAC system is designed so that the only thing that can be done to impact the quality of air that flows through the system and into the dwelling is the air filter!

We hope that we have pointed up the importance of choosing a highly-efficient air filter such as our MERV12 Ultra air filters for heating and air conditioning systems. The higher efficieny of our MERV12 rated filters creates a reduction of air flow equalling less than one-third of one-percent of the air flowing through the system. As a result, you get much greater filtration without a sacrifice in equipment efficiency!

Please go to the page that corresponds to your air filter size shown on your left NOW and make the move to improved indoor air and better health!

Why the Selection of the Proper
AC Furnace The Filter for Your HVAC System is
Vital

About Your Indoor Air

The indoor air in your home is likely much more contaminated with pollutants than even the worst air you can be exposed to outdoors.
The indoor air in homes commonly contains pollutants such as dust, dirt, pet dander, dead skin shed from the home's inhabitants and visitors, hair, pollen, mold spores, bacteria, viruses and, in many instances, a variety of other pollutants.

Your Heating and Air Conditioning System

Your air conditioning and/or heating system circulates this polluted air through the system and the ductwork and out through the exhaust vents into your home. It is then re-circulated from the air inside your home back through the return air vents and then repeats the process.

The only way for your air conditioning or heating system to remove these harmful pollutants is to capture the pollutants as they pass through the air filter. The less efficient the ac furnace filter, the more these pollutants are allowed to re-circulate through the system and into your home.

Types of AC Furnace Filters

There are a variety of AC Furnace filters used in furnaces and air conditioning systems. Regardless of the type of AC Furnace filter, they typically consist of three components: the filter media, filter frame and the media support. Each part plays a vital role in the makeup of the air filter.

AC Furnace Filter Material or AC Furnace Filter Media

The first component of an AC Furnace Filter is the filter material, commonly referred to as media or filter media. This is the material that is used to capture pollutants as the air passes through the system. The generally accepted forms of filter media are fiberglass, woven polyester and foam. Foam filters are, almost exclusively, in use in the RV and travel trailer industry. Each AC Furnace Filter has different characteristics which we will discuss below.

AC Furnace Filter Frame

The second component of the AC Furnace Filter is the filter "frame". The filter frame is very important as it plays a vital role in insuring the structural integrity of the filter. The frame houses the filter media. The frame also helps the filter media to maintain structural integrity while allowing for easier insertion and removal of the filter from the heating or air conditioning system.

The most widely accepted frame material is manufactured from cardboard in varying thicknesses, with the lowest-priced ac furnace filters using material only slightly heavier than paper. The frame material is first diecut from flat sheets of the frame material then folded in the frame or box shape then glued, taped or stapled together. Despite the almost universal use of cardbord in filter frame manufacture, more expensive electrostatic, reusable filters are often made of metal, such as aluminum or stainless steel.

AC Furnace Filter Frame Support

The third and equally important ingredient in AC Furnace Filters is the support structure. Because filter media is flimsy, it needs a support mechanism which not only supports the media but ties the frame to the media and prevents the media from being sucked into the system at system startup. Very often, the frame support is separate from the filter frame due to high-speed production methods and can cause significant problems in operation. If the AC Furnace Filter frame and support is not properly tied together, there is a high risk of AC Furnace Filter collapse and ensuing damage to the system.

Here is an overview of the types of commonly used AC Furnace Filters:

Foam AC Filters

Foam filters are not normally used in home or office heating and air conditioning systems. Foam filters are widely used in the RV and travel trailer industry in the AC System but provide miminal removal of air pollutants or protection of the equipment. Foam AC Filters are used, primarily, due to cost. Foam AC Filters are reusable, requiring removal and cleaning, usually by hot water, detergent or cleaning solvents. After the lengthy cleaning and drying process, these AC Filters are reinstalled in the system. We do not recommend the use of these filters in your heating and/or air conditioning system for replacement of your AC Furnace Filter!

Fiberglass AC Furnace Filters
Fiberglass AC Furnace Filters are the least expensive type of AC Furnace filters. Fiberglass AC Furnace filters were originally designed for one purpose, to protect your HVAC equipment from damage as the result of the collection of debris (indoor air pollutants) inside the HVAC system. Various manufacturers, in an effort to out-sell competition, resort to selling these AC Furnace Filters to unwary consumers by promoting a cost savings.

Fiberglass AC Furnace Filters are not only the least expensive conventional AC Furnace Filters sold, they are the least effective in removing harmful pollutants from the air you breathe. The fibers used in making up the Fiberglass AC Furnace Filter will begin to degrade soon after the AC Furnace Filter is installed, releasing harmful fiberglass into the HVAC system and ultimately into your indoor air. As a consequence, there is a potential health risk associated with fiberglass ac furnace filters. Because fiberglass ac furnace filters are manufactured in a flat sheet and mounted into the filter frame in the same way, the surface area that filters your indoor air is minimized. Big-box retailers, as well as less scrupulous HVAC contractors, routinely market these AC Furnace Filters. We do not recommend them for use.

Pleated AC Furnace Filters

Pleated AC Furnace Filters represent a significant upgrade in air filter quality and performance over fiberglass ac furnace filters. The pleated material used in this type of filter is normally a woven "fabric" made of polyester.The tighter "weave" captures much more of the pollutants passing through the filter as the furnace or air conditioning system operates.

Pleated ac furnace filters filters incorporate into their design the use of "pleats", creating a washboard appearance. The advantage with this design is that is dramatically increases the surface area of the filter media used to capture harmful and unwanted indoor air pollutants in your home. If you took a pleated ac furnace filter filter apart and stretched out the filter material, you would discover a sizable difference in the overall square footage of these types of filters used in air filtration vs. the flat fiberglass design.

Reusable AC Furnace Filters

Many resusable ac furnace filter manufacturers produce filters which tout the value of a reusable filter. The filter media is washable while the frame is, most often, manufactured from some form of metal allowing for extended use of the ac furnace filter. Though the idea of a reusable filter is attractive due to the cost savings over disposable filters like your typical fiberglass or pleated filters, there are a number of reasons why we do not recommend these filters.

Reusable AC Furnace Filters present a number of problems not associated with disposable ac furnace filters.

To properly clean reusable ac furnace it is necessary to remove the filter, transport it through the home or office into an area that will allow for adequate cleaning. This is normally accomplished through rinsing with water or a suitable cleaner. Not only is this a dirty and time consuming process, the ac furnace filter must be dried thoroughly to allow re-introduction into the HVAC system. Assuming the cleaning process was adequate, drying is an overnight process or the use of an external dryer such as a hair dryer is used. This means that you either turn off your system for the duration of the cleaning and drying of the filter or risk the possibility of creating a "safe harbor" for mold and various other biological contaminants in the filter.

With the use of chemical cleaners, the media material in the ac furnace filter will absorb the chemicals and remain in the filter media. Careful handling in a room with plenty of air flow is essential. When the air in your HVAC reaches room temperature, the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) present in the chemical used to clean the ac furnace filter that was absorbed into the media material will begin to release into your indoor air causing a potential health risk. In addition to posing a health risk, not to mention the time, energy and mess included with this form of filtration, we have found that virtually all reusable ac furnace filters serverely reduce the flow of air through the system resulting a dramatic loss in efficiency and an increase in operating costs. In the end, we are convinced this is not a good solution.

Electrostatic AC Furnace Filters

Electrostatic AC Furnace Filters are, most often, plugged into an external power source to cause the AC Furnace filter media to become electrified, causing the AC Furnace Filter to act like a magnet in attracting more of the pollutants passing through the AC Furnace Filter. Though these types of AC Furnace Filters have proven to capture more of the pollutants present in indoor air, the necessity for connecting to an external power source is often expensive and relies on continous power for this type of AC Furnace filter to be effective.

Our AC and Furnace Filters - Why They Are Better?

Our AC Furnace Filters are what we firmly believe to be the finest solution for your HVAC system. They are the perfect balance between filtration and your optimum operation of your HVAC system.

To begin, we use a pleating process to dramatically increase the surface area of the ac furnace filter.

Our filter media is made of a Non-Allergenic material that is rated MERV 12. The rated quality of our filter media is far superior to even the most popular "brand name" filters, even leading brands like the 3M Filtrete filter. The MERV 12 rating is a rating system devised by AHSRAE, an independent testing agency. The MERV12 rating means that far less contaminants are passed through the air filter and into your home.

In addition to the superior MERV 12 rated filter media, the media is electrostatically charged to further enhance the filtration qualities of the ac furnace filter. The "charging" of the filter media is caused by the passage of air through the filter rather than the use of an external source of power.

Our ac furnace filters are encased in a one-piece box consisting of the frame and frame supports in one complete unit. Because there is no attaching of the frame to the support struture, the problems created from mass production are eliminated. Finally, to insure integrity of the filter media, a wire grid is laminated to the filter media eliminating the chance that the media becomes distorted and stops working.

If you are seeking the finest quality, lowest-priced ac furnace filters, why not make the change to the BEST!

Why not click on the size of filter used in your HVAC system shown on the left of this page and begin enjoying the finest ac furnace filter for your HVAC system?

*Honeywell is a tradename of the Honeywell Corporation. We are not a part of Honeywell Corporation or any of it's subsidiaries. No infringement of any trademarks or tradenames is intended.