- MERV 1-4: The cheapest of them all that block pollen, dust and carpet fibers, etc.
- MERV 5-8: These filters can trap mold spores, hair spray, and cement dust as well.
- MERV 9-12: These are quite effective and can trap particles as small as one micron, such as lead dust and auto emission.
- MERV 13-16: These supreme quality filers can trap the smallest of particles such as tobacco smoke, bacteria, and sneeze particles of up to 0.3 microns and larger.
- Fiberglass filters: These filters are the least expensive ones and have the lowest MERV ratings. Typically lying in 1-4 MERV range, fiberglass filters are capable of trapping dust and carpet fiber.
- Disposable pleated filters: These filters have a MERV range of 5-7 and can trap smaller particles such as cement dust. These are made of a polyester material enclosed in a cardboard frame.
- Box and bag filters: These are a bit expensive but have high MERV ratings (8-15). These filters are capable of blocking particles that are smaller than even 1 micron in sizes such as lead dust and tobacco smoke.
- Hepa filter: These are the highest quality of filters with the best MERV, MPR, and FPR ratings. However, these might not be compatible with many of the HVAC devices. These HVAC filters do not come cheap.