What Your Heating And AC Repair Technician Have To Say On Cheap VS Expensive Filters | Arlington, TX
The air filters play a silent but critical role in trapping all the pet dander, pollen, dust, mold, and other allergens from the air to ensure that your home has clean, safe air. When purchasing air filters, you must consider many factors, including quality and price. There are many benefits to purchasing a quality air filter, as they can catch all the contaminants and purify the air. Unfortunately, quality air filters don’t come cheap. But when it comes to ensuring high indoor air quality, heating and AC repair technicians advise that you leave nothing to chance.
This article will enlighten you on expensive versus cheap filters. You will learn of the merits and demerits to ensure that you can make an informed decision on the purchase. However, you must still consult your AC repair technician before the purchase.
Why Should You Buy Air Filters?
There are many reasons why air filters are necessary. However, the main reason is their role. Air filters will help remove pollen, dust, smoke particles, pet dander, and other contaminants from your indoor air. Additionally, they ensure that you have high indoor air quality. Therefore, they help you reduce any risk of respiratory infection and other health-related issues that are associated with low/poor indoor air quality. They do this by minimizing the pollen or dust that gets into your respiratory system when inhaling.
Additionally, the air filters are critical in improving the airflow at your home. They do this by reducing the heating or cooling resistance, resulting in lower energy utility bills with time. Hence, your HVAC system will not be straining to cool your Arlington, TX home, meaning you will have fewer heating and AC repairs. Other benefits of having a quality air filter are that it ensures cleaner indoor air, lower cooling, and heating bills, and improves the efficiency of your HVAC system.
How Do Cheap and Expensive Filters Compare?
Unlike Expensive Air Filters, Cheap Filters Don’t Last Long
One of the shortcomings of cheap air filters is that they need frequent replacing as they don’t last long compared to expensive ones. This primarily stems from their make. The cheap air filters are typically made from cardboard and paper. They are cheap to manufacture but aren’t durable. Additionally, they are not as effective at trapping the contaminants in the air as expensive filters. They only trap little dust, pollen, and pet dander and then become clogged with these particles. Hence, you will have to replace them often. Otherwise, they might make the HVAC system work harder, drawing more energy and exposing its components to wear and tear, necessitating a call to a heating and AC repair technician.
Better Quality Materials and Technologies Make Expensive Filters
More premium materials are used in producing expensive air filters than inexpensive ones. Fiberglass, which is porous and can retain more dust, pet dander, and pollen than materials such as cardboard or paper, is commonly used to make them. Additionally, fiberglass is more resistant to moisture and less prone to tearing than other materials. Although it costs more to make, it is less maintenance-intensive and lasts longer. This means that though expensive, these filters give you value for money. Hence, if you are shopping for quality filters, consult your AC repair technician on the best ones on the market.
The Expensive Filters Have a More Surface Area Compared to Cheap Ones
If your AC filters have a higher MERV rating, you will have a greater surface area to filter the pet dander, pollen, dust, and other particulate matter. While also helping reduce allergies in the home, high-quality air filters that are a little more expensive can help keep dust and other impurities out of your lungs. A less expensive air filter might have fewer pleats, which would have less surface area to catch airborne particles. Hence, to ensure that you remain healthy and get value for money, consider spending a little more by purchasing quality air filters and having a routine air conditioning service done by a professional AC repair company.
Cheap Air Filters Aren’t Effective in Removing Dust and Other Contaminants Dissolved in The Air
The main issue with cheap air filters is that they aren’t effective in removing dust, pet dander, mold, pollen, and other pollutants from the air. This is because they are made of lower-quality materials that get clogged up easily. This isn’t even an option if you have pets at your Arlington, TX home. This is because you might be forced to replace them as early as every two weeks because of clogging up. This, in the long run, will cost you more. It also means that you’ll have to enlist for frequent heating and AC repairs if you forget to replace them, as they will strain the AC system.
Which Filters Are Right for You?
The answer to this question depends on your needs and whether you have pets at your home. Do you want something that has a cheap upfront cost? Then you should go with the cheap filters. However, they have many shortcomings. If you want a quality filter that will ensure high indoor air quality, then go with expensive filters with a higher MERV rating. These air filters will remove as many contaminants as possible from your home and require less maintenance. Hence, the kind of air filters you need depends on your budget and needs. Consult your heating and AC repair technician to learn more about the types of air filters to install at your home.
Cheap Is Expensive!
When it comes to air filters, you should purchase quality ones. Although you might be tempted to buy the cheap ones to save a dollar, they will cost you more in the long run. Contact us at One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Fort Worth, your reliable heating and AC repair company in Arlington, TX for advice on the best filters.