[masraum]

Originally Posted by craigster59

The thing that surprised me moving here to Arizona from California was the AC filters.

I'm a maniac about changing filters, in SoCal I would change every other month with the high efficiency filters from HD with high allergen filtration.

I put those here in Arizona and no bueno. Too hard on the system. You go with the cheapo-creepo green mesh flimsy numbers, that's what everyone recommends. Less stress on the system and I change monthly.

I have discovered the same thing here. They sell those super filters, but all they are good at is causing problems for your AC because they are too restrictive of airflow. The important bit is the "MERV" rating. I believe it's ideal to keep the merv rating it 8 or below or better yet 5.

I've switched to these pleated paper filters. Another option if you've got the space is to switch to a 4" filter. Because they have a lot more surface area, I believe they have more flow through what would otherwise be a more restrictive filter.