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George Bokros
08-13-2013, 7:49 AM
Last fall I had a new HVAC installed. They sold me on the Aprilaire filter which is 4" thick. Their practice is to install it horizontally. I was told that it is recommended to run the blower it 24/7/365, I was also told it should last 9 -12 months. I replaced the first one at 4 1/2 months and the second at 3 months. These filters are $30 best price I find on line. My previous HVAC used 16X25X1 and I was paying ~$12 each and changing every three months. This new unit has almost tripled my cost of operation.

Is this an indication that my ducts need cleaning?

Thanks

George

Dan Hintz
08-13-2013, 8:50 AM
The ducts aren't growing the dust, they just collect it (well, they collect it faster than the release it). If you have a lot of dust being captured, you need to look for environmental factors. But check the ducts and give them a good cleaning if they need it... a clean duct will collect more dust and cut down on your filter changes for a few years ;)

Brian Tymchak
08-13-2013, 11:35 AM
Last fall I had a new HVAC installed. They sold me on the Aprilaire filter which is 4" thick. Their practice is to install it horizontally. I was told that it is recommended to run the blower it 24/7/365, I was also told it should last 9 -12 months. I replaced the first one at 4 1/2 months and the second at 3 months. These filters are $30 best price I find on line. My previous HVAC used 16X25X1 and I was paying ~$12 each and changing every three months. This new unit has almost tripled my cost of operation.

George

Although I don't use my blower in continuous mode, I only change my filter (20x25x5) once a year. Since your home will produce contaminants at a constant (more-or-less) rate (unless you get new carpeting, do some construction, etc), I believe you could leave your filters in longer. What is your criteria for changing your filter so often?

Stephen Cherry
08-13-2013, 11:44 AM
Wow, that's a lot of money. I just use the el cheapo filters, and blow them out half the time. I'm thinking that you have some reason to use such upscale filters though.

One thing I would recommend would be to consider using another filter upstream of this one. This could be an el cheapo filter that you could blow out every once in a while. That way you still have your fancy air filter, but you are not clogging it up with dust. Sounds like penny pinching, but it's a pretty normal thing to do. In some applications, nobody would actually run a hepa filter without a prefilter.

Brian Elfert
08-13-2013, 12:38 PM
Blowing a filter out can cause pinholes that let dirt through. Probably not such a big deal for a furnace, but you don't want dirt getting through on a car/truck engine. I know folks who have had to have $15,000 to $20,000 diesel engine rebuilds due to air filter issues. I pay $2 to $3 each for my furnace filters. I probably go through a three pack every year as I forget to change them every 90 days. Not a huge expense in the long run.

Jamie Buxton
08-13-2013, 12:41 PM
Why bother with a filter in the HVAC system? Your home has dust in it. That's inevitable. You pick up a lot of it with a vacuum cleaner or broom. Your HVAC filter picks up some, too. But if you just lose the HVAC filter, what happens? You pick up more dust with the broom or vacuum cleaner. No biggy.

Dan Hintz
08-13-2013, 12:48 PM
Why bother with a filter in the HVAC system? Your home has dust in it. That's inevitable. You pick up a lot of it with a vacuum cleaner or broom. Your HVAC filter picks up some, too. But if you just lose the HVAC filter, what happens? You pick up more dust with the broom or vacuum cleaner. No biggy.
Filters prevent a buildup up dust on the cooling coils. Once they get caked, cooling efficiency drops dramatically, and also potentially leads to algae growth... things just get worse from there.

Lee Schierer
08-13-2013, 7:18 PM
We replaced our geothermal heat pump with a geothermal heat pump A/C unit 3 years ago. The new filter was 2" thick and was quite expensive from the local dealer. We run the fan 24/7 when using either the heat or the A/C. We do not run the fan when it is mild enough outside to open the windows as it would serve no real purpose. In NE Ohio you should get as many days as we do in NW PA to just open the windows and enjoy the fresh air, assuming you don't have an allergy problem. We replace our filter every six months as recommended by the manual for the heat pump and the dealer. I buy them several at a time from Filters Now online at a fraction of the cost I can get them locally. They will even make custom sizes for no extra cost.

George Bokros
08-13-2013, 7:49 PM
We replaced our geothermal heat pump with a geothermal heat pump A/C unit 3 years ago. The new filter was 2" thick and was quite expensive from the local dealer. We run the fan 24/7 when using either the heat or the A/C. We do not run the fan when it is mild enough outside to open the windows as it would serve no real purpose. In NE Ohio you should get as many days as we do in NW PA to just open the windows and enjoy the fresh air, assuming you don't have an allergy problem. We replace our filter every six months as recommended by the manual for the heat pump and the dealer. I buy them several at a time from Filters Now online at a fraction of the cost I can get them locally. They will even make custom sizes for no extra cost.

I checked their prices and they are slightly cheaper than Discount Air Filter, about $5 per filter.

Larry Frank
08-13-2013, 7:59 PM
I put in a new HVAC system this year and it uses a similar filter. I was told to replace it twice a year at about $40 each time. The filter takes a lot of the fine dust out including some of the pollen which reduces allergy problems. I would never think of running the system without the filter as I do not want to breath the extra dust.

The system that I put in has a programming option which allows you to select what per cent of the time the blower motor runs when the system (heat or cooling) is not running. We have been happy with this option. Many of the new variable speed blower motors are much cheaper to run than the old ones. My air conditioning costs have dropped by a large amount.

In the summer time, there are days that we could open the house but have not done so due to the humidity. The house will absorb moisture like a sponge when it is open and then it takes the air conditioning a long time to get it back down.

Val Kosmider
08-13-2013, 9:28 PM
My house has the four inch filter as well. They are made by Honeywell and run $25-30 from the local HVAC guy. It is a new system. Interestingly, each of the three cold air returns has a more tradition 1' filter in it. Sort of like a 'pre-filter' which helps to keep the larger filter cleaner, longer. I wonder if this adaptation is an option for you?

Brad Adams
08-13-2013, 9:33 PM
I run a plumbing and heating business. One of the number one causes of a service call is a dirty filter. The thick filters are great. They keep the static pressure down in the system due to the larger surface area of the filter. Not only do they keep the evaporator coil clean, they keep the secondary heat exchanger clean in a high efficiency furnace. It is basically a radiator type coil also. Your not stuck to buying Aprilaire's filters. Find a different brand of the same size and they will likely be cheaper.

George Bokros
08-13-2013, 10:15 PM
Your not stuck to buying Aprilaire's filters. Find a different brand of the same size and they will likely be cheaper.

These filters do not have cardboard frame they are unique to Aprilaire. They come completely collapsed and you expand them and slide them into the steel tracks inside the filter housing. If you expand one and set it down on the floor it will collapse like an accordion.

It is called a "Media Filter."

George

Brad Adams
08-13-2013, 11:10 PM
Like I said they are not unique to Aprilaire, look around for an off brand and you will find them cheaper. All you are paying for is the name. Look for a spaceguard filter they are the same thing.

George Bokros
08-14-2013, 7:41 AM
Thanks Brad. I have been using the ones that are MERV 13. The MERV 10 are less expensive and I may switch to those.

George