Louisiana HVAC expert notices Lowe’s shoppers grabbing ‘premium’ AC filters. Then he shares why they’re making a big mistake.

Hardware stores can be overwhelming for regular people. Every aisle is filled with endless variations of the same product. Less-informed shoppers often make their decisions based on arbitrary information, from colors to numbers.

But one expert said there's one product all homeowners should steer clear of.

‘I've Seen Three Different People Come to Get Air Filters'

Louisiana HVAC contractor Zack Stephens (@zdeddy) shares a video from inside a Lowe's. He warns shoppers about a group of air filters. His video has accumulated more than 1.8 million views.

“I'm in Lowe's right now getting some material,” Stephens says. “And I've seen three different people come to get air filters and they grab one of these two.”

Stephens points to rows of Filtrete blue and purple MERV filters. He tells the viewers, “That's killing your unit.”

“That was designed and created by the air conditioner companies to sell more units,” Stephens alleges. “That restricts your airflow by at least 10%. Your units running more causes more motor failures, more compressor failures freezes up faster.”

Stephens then says Filtrete's basic filters are more desirable alternatives.

“You need to be buying these to let your unit breathe,” he says. He explains, “Putting something over your mouth, breathing through it—the thicker and more pleated it is, the harder it is gonna be to breathe. Your air conditioner gotta breathe too.”

In the caption, Stephens expands on his criticism of the colored filters.

“Y'all put MERV 8 filters on yalls 20 year old 12 seer AC units and wonder why yalls crack sweat is running down your legs,” he writes.

The “MERV” part of “MERV filters” refers to “Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value.” It is a numbered score that indicates how well an air filter catches particles. A higher number means cleaner air, but it can also mean the AC's working a bit harder to pull air through.

Do Higher-MERV Filters Make AC Units Really Work Harder Than Basic Filters?

Many of Stephens' viewers praised his HVAC hack, with one fan of basic filters commenting, “My cheapness saves me again.” But does the lack of airflow resistance actually make basic filters better?

The Residential Building Systems Group (RBS) says better filters actually tend to have more airflow resistance, which takes more fan power and energy to overcome.

After monitoring 10 homes where high- and low-MERV filters were swapped in the same systems, researchers found higher-MERV filters did use more energy, but the effect depended on the system's total resistance and fan type.

Green Building Advisor (GBA) also reported most systems with high-MERV filters do have problems with pressure and air flow. However, this was more due to poor design than the filters themselves. GBA also noted that larger filters mitigate such pressure drops.

Basic filters are not risk-free either. The Department of Energy warns that clogged, dirty filters reduce airflow and significantly reduce efficiency, and that replacing one can cut energy use by 5% to 15%.

@zdeddy

Subplot News reached out to Stephens and Lowe's via email.

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