What Is a MERV Rating?

June 28, 2021

When you start shopping for air filters, you will quickly notice that most products mention something called a MERV rating. What does this mean? Keep reading to find out all about what MERV ratings are and how they work. What Does MERV Stand For? MERV stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value. This is essentially a type of measurement used to determine how good of a job an air filter will do. The MERV scale was initially developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioner Engineers (ASHRAE). Over the years, it has been adopted by most major air filter manufacturers who now specifically aim for certain MERV ratings when they produce products. The MERV rating can be a very useful way of comparing filters regardless of their type, size, or materials. The MERV scale runs from 1 to 20, and ratings are assigned based on the size of particles that pass through the filter. Lower MERV levels mean the filter catches less small debris, and higher MERV levels mean it filters more particles out of the air. What Do Different MERV Levels Mean? It can be a little hard to understand what MERV means when you just look...

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