Mother Nature has a split personality.
She creates a gentle summer breeze, but also creates life-threatening tornados and hurricanes.
She can cause floods or a drought or make the temperature change from a balmy spring afternoon to a freezing blizzard the next day. Man’s survival depends on our ability to adapt to whatever she throws our way. One of the most powerful tools to defeat the whims of nature is the development of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning technologies. HVAC has allowed us to create a comfortable living space no matter what is going on outdoors. Unfortunately, Mother Nature has another trick up her sleeve and that is those microscopic particles of pollen that are vital to the reproductive system of plants. Pollen is an essential character when we relate the story of the “Birds and the Bees” to our kids. But it also makes it impossible to breathe easy, especially for those with allergies and those who suffer from asthma. Man’s response was the development of HVAC filters. Lower price filters with a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) from 1 to 4 do a decent job of trapping dust and larger particulates but will allow the smaller pollen grains to enter your house. To capture those tiny bits of genetic material, the MERV rating will need to be higher at about an 8 for large pollens and maybe up to a 12 MERV rating for those really tiny ones. Most people hope to escape the runny nose, watery eyes, and other minor symptoms associated with pollen allergies. For other people afflicted with asthma, the choice of filter that they use in their HVAC system can be a life or death decision.