AboutJim Barnhart Expertise Fifty + years in Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning, Sheet Metal Manufacturing.
Semi retired since 1995,
Experience Answer questions about , residential and commercial.
Answer questions about sheet metal fabrication.
Fifty years plus experience.
No answers for oil equipment, No answers for kitchen appliances, No answers for laundry appliances.
Question My question regards what kind of filters to use with our heating and air conditioning system in our home. For years we've been using 3M pleated filters that are said to help reduce allergens since my whole family has a lot of hay fever type problems. I just had a guy come out to do the twice yearly cleaning and inspection of our system, and he emphatically insisted that I shouldn't use those filters. He said they cause the heat pump to work much harder, reduce the efficiency, make the electric bills higher, and can actually increase the amount of dirt in the system. He said my upstairs unit was very dirty and rusty which he attributed to the filters I'd been using. He suggested I use those blue ones you can see through. My question is will using allergy type pleated filters really hurt my system. I don't want to destroy my heat pump, but I want to filter the air if it helps our family's allergy symptoms (which I think it does).
Answer Mary,
I could type a book on filters, however I don't type very fast and I could be stuck on the computer for a while.
Let me just say the best way to Handel the filter business for heating and cooling needs is to use the cheap through away filters that cost about $1 each, buy a couple of cases of twelve or more.
Change the filter in your unit or wherever it is every 30 days, If you have two units/two filters it'll cost you about $2 a month and I guarantee you you'll save that much and a bit more on your electric bill plus you'll get a better cooling supply of air for your home.
The pleated filters as far as I know don't have any better health benefits then the cheap through away type.
I don't know how difficult it is to change your filters, some are very simple and some are difficult. If you have to leave your filters in place for three or four months then the pleated filters will do a better job in the long run.
No matter what filter you use or how often you change it or how dirty it gets it's not going to rust or harm your unit other then get it a bit more dirty.
