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Where to Buy Air Filters for Heating and Air Conditioning Systems AirCondAPedia © Enter your search terms Submit search form   Search This Website - InspectAPedia.com

• Air conditioning / heating system filter product sources and recommendations
• Air conditioning / heating filter suggestions for optimum indoor air quality
• Air conditioning / heating system air handlers - Fan Coil Unit Inspection, Diagnosis, Repair, Replacement

This website answers almost any question you might ask about air filters for heating or air conditioning systems. We explain how an air conditioning service technician will diagnose certain common air conditioning system failures or defects. We include photographs to assist readers in recognizing cooling system defects. We continue to add to and update this text as new details are provided.

Contact us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution. © Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Sources of Air Conditioning and Heating Air Filters, High Efficiency Filters, Gasketed Air Filters, and Air Filter Manufacturers

• Filtration Manufacturing Inc. in Alabama, are a manufacturer/distributor of air filters. They have a wide selection of air filters (air filtration products) and air purification products. This company can also manufacture and deliver quickly air filters made to custom dimensions.
  
  Filtration Manufacturing Inc. company has paid particular attention to air filters that don't leak or bypass air at their mounting location. Their website http://www.filtrationmanufacturing.com/ offers less discussion about filter composition materials than those who are concerned with filter fiber shedding or filter composition.
  
  
• Global Filter Source, is a supplier of for non-fiberglass filters such as their polypropylene filter with a supporting grid of wire and cardboard. Contact Global Filter 877-844-3293 offers "healthy home" filters and a MERV 11 pleated furnace filter. Website: http://www.healthyhomefilters.com/
  
  
• List your product here: manufacturers or suppliers of air filters and air filtration equipment are welcome to contact us to add product listings here - there is no listing cost (we reserve the right to add or remove product listings from our web pages) Technical critique of our website articles is very welcome and we give full credit and web links to technical reviewers or to contributors of technical content. We have no financial relationship with companies or products discussed at our website.

Before calling or ordering an air filter online, remember to measure and write down the dimensions of the filters you are replacing in order to order the correct air filter size.

Other air filtration methods besides air filters

Beyond mechanical filtration methods using high MERV or HEPA rated air filters we've discussed above are other methods that can reduce airborne particle levels:

• Electrostatic air cleaners have been in use on HVAC systems for decades as highly efficient "air filters". These devices use an electrical charge on metal blades or plates and an electrical charge of opposite polarity on wires between the plates to cause particles in air moving past the wires to become "charged" and to stick to the surface of the metal plates or blades in the air cleaner. These electrostatic precipitators may also actually oxidize particles as well.
  
  
• Ultraviolet light (photo catalytic oxidation) is used in some air handling or duct systems, claiming to kill 99.95 of bacteria and viruses. While Wikipedia claims that independent research has confirmed this claim, we are very skeptical. For UV light to work as a sterilizer we need sufficient contact time.
  
  We are doubtful that little particles zooming along in the air path get enough time in the UV light to be effectively neutralized. However the surfaces in the duct or air handler system which are exposed to this light are almost certainly being treated effectively. We'd like to see this approach tested in duct systems where condensate splash-by is at risk of wetting duct surfaces and at risk of a concomitant mold growth problem in that location.
  
  
• Charcoal or activated carbon air filters provide a porous material that can remove small particles along with some volatile organic compounds (VOC's). These are normally used together with a HEPA filtration system.
  
  
• "Air purifiers" or ionizers that charge their internal electrical surfaces and cause airborne particles to stick to a collector plate are a currently popular (2006) product which in our opinion are of limited actual effectiveness unless used in a small, clean, enclosed space. These devices do not move enough cubic feet per minute (CFM) of air to be effective in a large open space.
  
  
• "Air cleaners or purifiers" which use ozone, or "ozone generators" have been proposed as air cleaners and as "mold killers" by the manufacturers of these products.
  
  Ozone is a powerful oxidizer and it may also cause airborne particles to become electrically charged and to plate out on building surfaces. They are used effectively to reduce airborne smoke and they're used in some medical applications or facilities.
  
  Some other "air purifiers" may also generate (un-wanted) ozone levels in a building. But ozone generators can themselves be an IAQ problem source if they produce high levels (over 0.05 ppm) of ozone in indoor air. And as a "mold remediation" or mold cure ozone generators are junk science which fails to properly remove the problem mold and fails to correct its cause.
  
  We discuss the use of ozone generators in detail at The Use of Ozone Generators Indoors for Control for Odors and Mold Removal in Buildings: A Summary of Hazards and False Claims

Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS
AIR CONDITIONER BTU CHART
AIR CONDITIONER COMPONENT PARTS
AIR CONDITIONER TYPES, ENERGY SOURCES
AIR FILTERS for HVAC SYSTEMS
  Air Filter Location
  Dirty Air Filter Problems
  Missing Air Filters
 OPTIMUM INDOOR AIR FILTERS
  Air Filter Efficiency
  Optimum Air Filter Design / Location
  How to Cascade Air Filters
 CONTINUOUS BLOWER FAN OPERATION
 AIR FILTER EFFECTIVENESS
  MERV, HEPA Definitions
  MERV Air Filter Ratings
  How Air Filters Work
  Particle Sizes & IAQ
  Gasketed air filters
  Debris in Return Air Plenum
  Washable air filters
 FIBERGLASS & AIR FILTERS
  Air Filters Shed Fibers?
  Fiberglass & Test Lab Accuracy
  Variations in Fiber Size
 SOURCES FOR AIR FILTERS
  OTHER AIR CLEANERS
AIR HANDLER UNIT
  DIRTY A/C BLOWERS
    Leaks, Rodents In Air Handlers
    Mold Growth in Air Handlers
  DAMAGED COOLING COIL
  DIRTY COOLING COIL
  DIRTY COIL CLEANING PROCEDURES
  FROST BUILD-UP
  BLOWER LEAKS, RUST & MOLD
  ADDING A/C: RETROFIT SIZING
CLEANING & Legionella BACTERIA
COMPRESSOR CONDENSER
CONDENSATE HANDLING
CONTROLS & SWITCHES
COOL OFF HEAT Thermostat Switch
COOLING CAPACITY, RATED
COOLING COIL or EVAPORATOR COIL
DATA TAGS on AIR CONDITIONERS
DUCT SYSTEMS
DUCTS - Asbestos
DUCT SYSTEM DEFECTS
DUCT INSULATION, Asbestos Paper
DUCTS, Asbestos Transite Pipe
DUST FROM HVAC?
FAN AUTO ON Thermostat Switch
INSPECTION LIMITATIONS
LOST COOLING CAPACITY
MOTOR OVERLOAD RESET SWITCH
OPERATING COST
OPERATING DEFECTS
OPERATING TEMPERATURES
REPAIR GUIDE for AIR CONDITIONERS
REPAIR & DIAGNOSTIC FAQs for A/C
REFRIGERANTS
SEER RATINGS & OTHER DEFINITIONS
SYSTEM OPERATION
THERMOSTATS
THERMOSTATIC EXPANSION VALVES
CRITICAL DEFECTS
Air Conditioning "How To" Books
FURNACES WARM AIR HEATING SYSTEMS

Technical Reviewers

• Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia ^TM Website
• Thanks to Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, for assistance in technical review of the "Critical Defects" section and for the photograph of the deteriorating gray Owens Corning flex duct in a hot attic. Mr. Cramer is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator.
• Thanks to Jon Bolton, an ASHI, FABI, and otherwise certified Florida home inspector who provided photos of failing Goodman gray flex duct in a hot attic.
• Thanks to Alan Carson, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for technical critique and for providing a copy of Carson Dunlop Weldon & Associates Technical Reference Guide to manufacturer's model and serial number information for heating and cooling equipment ($69.00 U.S.).
• Wikipedia provided background information about the definition of HEPA and airborne particle interception.

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

InspectAPedia ^TM Home & Site Map - Building Inspection, Diagnosis, & Repair, Environmental Inspection & Testing - Research Website

The Mold Information Center: What to Do About Mold in Buildings, When and How to Inspect for Mold, Clean Up Mold, or Avoid Mold Problems

Home Inspection Construction Consulting Services & advice for home buyers

Use this simple, economical mold test kit by following our instructions on how to collect and mail mold samples to our lab

Environmental Inspection, Testing, & Diagnosis On-Site IAQ, Gas, Air Testing, Mold Investigation, Sick Building Diagnosis, Lab Services, & Remediation Plan Preparation - indoor air quality testing, problem source determination, supporting lab work, written remediation plan addressing removal of environmental and other hazards and prevention of their recurrence.

Contact Daniel Friedman for website content suggestions or for fee-paid consulting

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