Although your furnace air filter might seem like an insignificant part of your commercial HVAC system, this little component is extremely important to protect and maintain good indoor air quality for your commercial property. A commercial building such as a factory, office, school, hospital, etc. is used by many people, and it is important that it is kept well maintained and the air filters used are cleaned and replaced at proper times. Since a proper air filter ensures good quality indoor air, employee health, and better worker productivity through proper filtration, when it comes to replacing the air filters for your HVAC system, there are many important things you need to consider.
Air Filter Costs and Operating Conditions
Thinking of upgrading your air filter? The cost may be the first thing you will think about. Before going ahead with the purchase, it is imperative to think about the life cycle cost of the commercial air filter rather than just the cost of the filter itself. Typically, the filter cost should encompass:
- Cost of the material and shipping
- Operating cost of the filter
- Replacement cost
- Cost of disposal if any
For high-efficiency filters, although the material cost will be high, it is important to regard that due to some of their features, such as greater resistance to pressure drop, you will also have some incidental extra costs such as fan replacements. Having said that, it will still be an optimal change overall since your HVAC improvements will lower your long-term costs. They will provide cleaner air throughout the facility and maintain all the components optimally. When purchasing an air filter, remember to include the building’s air pressure.
Particulate Air Filtration
Another thing that needs to be evaluated is the type and level of contamination in your indoor air. You will need to select an air filtration system based on the identification of contaminants using ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 52.2-1999. Be sure to select a filter with the adequate Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value for the best results. It is imperative that the filter selection is based on the ANSI/ASHRAE standard so that contaminants can be eliminated as per particle size.
New Technologies
Higher efficiency filtration systems often give rise to pressure drops. With improving technology, there are several air filtration products which are designed to cause higher filtration efficiency without significant or any increase in pressure drop. This helps to reduce airflow resistance. For instance, consider the mini-pleat V cell filters. They offer four times the media in the same 24 X 24 X 12 filter pack. A 1-inch min-pleat panel in a V-style filter pack will provide more filter surface area, decreasing the air flow resistance.
Air filter bypass is one of the most common problems observed in HVAC filtration systems. It is imperative to know what kind of filter needs to be installed and how. Thankfully, HECO, a reputed company and contractor for industrial refrigeration, can help you to understand all the nitty-gritty for choosing the right HVAC air filter for commercial purposes.