Derek ColeGM, Simmons One Hour Heating & Air · AI HVAC Answers

MERV 8 Air Filters: The BEST Balance for Your System! #shorts

28 Sept 2026 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

1:45

In this short, Derek Cole advises homeowners on selecting HVAC air filters that effectively capture dust and particles while preserving sufficient airflow to prevent coil freezing or system breakdown. He points out that the thin, low‑rated filters on the left side of the aisle (often gray Filtri brand) are typically MERV 5 or even as low as MERV 1, which he warns against because they allow particles to pass through and restrict airflow. He then shifts focus to the red‑coded filters kept in stock, which range from MERV 8 upward. Derek recommends MERV 8 as the minimum acceptable rating, describing it as the best compromise between filtration efficiency and airflow. While acknowledging that higher‑MERV filters exist, he emphasizes that for standard air‑filter use (not full air‑cleaning), MERV 8 is the baseline he would choose.

Chapters

You want a filter that collects particles, collects dust, collects dirt. It's pretty good at that, but at the same time allows for the airflow to get through to the system so you don't have a freezing coil, you don't have a breakdown because this system has no airflow. So which one do I choose? So all these right here on this side of the aisle are— these are MERV 5. So when you go gray with the Filtri brand, they are MERV 5. 5 filters. The MERV 5 is a little too low in my opinion. Um, so MERV 5, stay away from those. Definitely stay away from these. Do these even have a MERV rating? Might be like a MERV rating of 1, but look how thin these are. I mean, you can see through it. That's the problem. But the 5, you see through those as well. That's also a problem. So Stay away from the 5, stay away from the— I don't know, 1, 0. I'm not sure what the MERV rating is on that one. But when you come over to the red, so the ones we keep in stock, the ones we also have in our store, we have MERV 8 to MERV whatever, however high you want to go. But MERV 8 is really the least I would ever go. Because that's a good balance between airflow and catching stuff. Uh, it's not a great solution, but if you're going to go air filter, not air cleaning, at least go MERV 8. So if you go— when you go red, MERV rating goes up quite a bit.