Central Air Again
I'm pricing out getting central air installed (as some of you know) and one vendor mentioned putting a air filtration system inline to pull crap out of the air in the house. Does this work and would you guys recommend it?
Answer:
It depends on what is meant by "air filtration system". If the vendor is talking about one of the high-priced electrostatic units then you can probably live without it quite well but every air handling system in a home needs to have SOME sort of filtration. Normally this would be part of the heating system's return air duct and would involve disposable filters. You definetly need a filter system especialy on a A/C system. The coil in the ductwork will be wet when the A/C is on, this moisture will attract dirt like a magnet. I would invest now instead of later, the electronic air cleaners work well if installed and maintained properly, and anyone that says they worthless doesn't know much about filters, there is no substitute for a well maintained Electronic Air Cleaner, they expensive at first but they will last a while. Typically 5 or more years, they are also repairable. If you ever want to install high efficiency filters, you have to do it when the system is designed. Heat pumps are touchy about the amount of air moving across the coils. You can't restrict air flow while air conditioning without icing the coils and destroying your efficiency. Your normal furnace filters are terrible filters. They barely pick up enough dust to keep the coils from packing solid, and let all the fine particles fly right on through. Most people don't find this to be a problem, particularly since heat pumps are a very clean system to start with. However, if anyone in the house has asthma or allergies, a HE filter might be well worth the extra expense. The vendor who mentioned it evidently is offering to size your ducts and fans for the added restriction. At the very least, he is asking the question at the right time.