A number of years ago, when I lived in Ohio, I had some work done on my HVAC system by a Heating & Cooling contractor. They had made a strong recommendation to replace my standard paper filter I was purchasing at the hardware store with this filter called a MicroPowerGuard. They gave me the whole product pitch and I remained a bit skeptical. After doing a bit of my own research on it, I decided to take them up on the offer.
The day they installed the filter, I had been particularly bothered by something in the air and my allergies had kicked in. I remember at the end of the day realizing that my allergies had calmed down within an hour or two after the filter had been installed. I kind of shrugged it off as a coincidence, at that time.
Flash forward to 2017 and I just installed the Electro-Breeze filter in my new house. I woke up and again my allergies were really bothering me. My eyes were itching and watering and my nose was running and I was sneezing non-stop. I even took a Zyrtec which did not help. I was finally able to install the new air filter just after lunchtime. Within about an hour and a half of installing it, I could tell whatever was in the air that had been bothering my eyes had definitely been reduced. I could physically feel some relief and the sneezing and runny nose had begun to lessen. Now I know it is not a coincidence.
A few years after I originally installed the MicroPowerGuard filter, I was doing a little reading on similar filter options in the market, as I was looking for bulk media replacement options to save a little money. I happened to run across the Electro-Breeze product. It is essentially the same product as the MicroPowerGuard but you do not have to purchase it through an authorized contractor. You can install it yourself and buy the replacement media pads in bulk quantities at a discount.
What is better, is that they have actually run a documented test on the Electro-Breeze filter to prove its filtration quality and airflow capacity. The product tests at 97% efficiency down to 0.3 Micron sized particles, all while maintaining the least amount of restriction on airflow. This is nearly HEPA rated filtration at a fraction of the cost, a very simple install, and less restrictive on air flow than a traditional paper filter which will lengthen the life of the blower motor. Additionally, the filter only needs to be replaced every 2 to 4 months, depending on how much you run your fan and how dusty your house tends to be. Typically, the higher rated paper filters need to be replaced every 30 to 45 days, as they will get loaded up with dust and become fairly restrictive on the air flow. So, in the long run the Electro-Breeze filter will pay for itself with just the media replacement costs alone. If you replace a quality paper filter for about $20 every 30 days, as recommended, you will spend an average of $240 per year on filter media. With the Electro-Breeze, the media is around $15 per filter and the system comes with 5 included media pads which is $75 worth of filters. You only need to replace filter media about once every 3 months on average. That is a $180 savings annually on filter media. For the normal sized residential HVAC systems, with the included filters, the system pays for itself in about 21 months. Compare that to a high-end, multi-stage, electronic HEPA filter that may take 10+ years to pay for itself, not to mention countless hours of vacuuming and cleaning the multiple filter stage components every 30-60 days. Filter maintenance is a snap with the Electro-Breeze and takes at most 5 minutes.
- Power down your furnace.
- Open your filter cover and disconnect the power lead.
- Pull the filter cartridge out of the slot.
- Open the latches and remove the old media and insert the new media.
- Close and latch the filter cartridge. *If you are a perfectionist, vacuum the outside of the stainless filter grid.
- Re-insert the filter cartridge into the filter slot.
- Re-attach the power lead and close the filter door.
- Turn your furnace power on.
Rolande's Ramblings 
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