[88carrera]

Hi everyone,

I moved into a (new to me) house and the HVAC has an electronic air filter which was not being used. The po had installed a standard media filter.

I reinstalled the electronic filter and it was popping and cracking away for a few minutes then it stopped and it is working fine.

I had an HVAC tech come by to check out the unit overall and make sure its in good working order. I asked the tech his opinion and he said the electronic filters don't work well. He said he preferred the media filter.

When I search online most review sites tout the efficiency of the electronic air cleaner (as long as you clean the filters per manufacturer) over a media filter.

What say ye?

[BlackTalon]

Got an electronic filter on the main HVAC system, and it's always seemed to work well. It definitely attracts some of the very fine dust onto the wires.

[HoodPin]

Electronic filters need to be cleaned periodically. Our modules fit in the dishwasher. I've also been told that you shouldn't have both electronic and medial installed in the ductwork at the same time. Can create excessive resistance for the fan.

I'm not a big fan of the electronic filters; but our house came with them. I've sometimes thought about swapping out for media filters to test for a time, but just haven't gotten around to it yet.

[ausgeflippt951]

Don't know much about the electronic filters, other than what various HVAC techs and our realtor have told me. As far as I have been told, the electronic filters can filter more efficiently but are unreliable and prone to breakage -- and then can be expensive to fix (which usually involves replacing the entire filter assembly; there supposedly is not much you can actually fix via part replacement).

Our house came with a broken electric filter unit -- it had a normal filter being used; we have continued that trend ourselves. Haven't bothered to look into fixing the electric unit.

[Dr K]

Waiting to here from the definitive HVAC source, but while waiting, I'll put in my 2 cents. We had high-quality electronic filters and cleaned them regularly in the dishwasher. Granted, the technology was from 1994 (so good at the time). But they never worked particularly (particulate-ly?) well as there was a significant amount of dust in our home. When we redid our heating system, we put in 1" paper filters and replace them regularly. There was still significant dust in the home but somewhat less. Then we had a 2-stage energy audit done, with remediation that included sealing the tops of walls, around vents, etc. such that the air draw into the attic was significantly reduced. Dust seems significantly less now - less flow in through the cracks in the doors and windows most likely.

BTW, the "popping and cracking" is them working correctly--think bug zappers.

[Don Wohlfarth]

The electronic air cleaners remove particulate in the .1 micron range. They work well if kept clean, once every 6 months or so. They will get weaker over time and can get very expensive to repair. For 90% of homes the 4-5 inch media filter is fine, gets down to 2-3 microns. Have to be replaced once a year. Stay away from the 1 inch 3M high efficiency filter as they will clog up in a month or and the static pressure when clean is fairly high.
Most media filters are 13 MERV and you can find 16 MERV if you search hard enough.
If you want more info on MERV ratings Google is your friend.m

[BlackTalon]

Originally Posted by Dr K

Waiting to here from the definitive HVAC source...

Originally Posted by Don Wohlfarth

The electronic air cleaners remove particulate in the .1 micron range. They work well if kept clean, once every 6 months or so. They will get weaker over time and can get very expensive to repair. For 90% of homes the 4-5 inch media filter is fine, gets down to 2-3 microns. Have to be replaced once a year. Stay away from the 1 inch 3M high efficiency filter as they will clog up in a month or and the static pressure when clean is fairly high.
Most media filters are 13 MERV and you can find 16 MERV if you search hard enough.
If you want more info on MERV ratings Google is your friend.m

Can't get much more of a definitive HVAC source than Don Glad to see you are still checking in every now and then!

[Dr K]

Originally Posted by BlackTalon

Can't get much more of a definitive HVAC source than Don Glad to see you are still checking in every now and then!

Yup. We are lucky to have Kurt, but I sometimes forget the depth and breath of expertise on this board!!

[Vicegrip]

Add to this that electrostatic "can remove to one micron" does not mean they remove appreciable amounts of dust at this level. For the most part forced air furnace air filters simply protect the evaporator coils rather than clean the air in the house. Particles of this and that are not all floating around loose and being sucked into the returns. They are sitting there in the carpet, bedding clothing and the like waiting for you to come along. You first disturb a cloud and then hoover up a sample into your lungs. Look there, you just did it again! and yet again....

The dirt from one round of carpet vacuuming would pack a furnace filter 3 times over. Most if the dust in your house lifts up and lays back down nearby.

Dont like dust? Get a central vacuum that has a exterior exhaust air discharge. Furnace filters are for the furnace. Central vacuum and proper humidity levels for the house

[cmartin]

Good info, thanks for the details all. I have a fancy UV bulb and some sort of humidifier thing along with a $$ filter in my furnace. My issue is I rarely use the furnace, maybe 5 days this winter so the stuff never gets used. I've been wondering how the stuff works.

Thanks again