Ducted AC Filters: The Essential Frontline Defence for Your Home's Health and AC System

You rely on your ducted air conditioning unit for whole home and business comfort, but do you know what's truly protecting the air you breathe and your air conditioning system? It's the unsung hero: the air filter. 

Regular filter maintenance and choosing the right product are the easiest, most affordable ways to dramatically improve your indoor air quality and keep your ducted air conditioning system running efficiently.

We're here to demystify the most common types of ducted AC filters. Understanding the difference is key to making a smart choice for your home, your office, your health, and your wallet.

Protecting Your Health: Why Quality Air Filtration Matters

The air you breathe indoors is constantly affected by outdoor conditions; depending on your location and their environmental factors, like urban high-traffic suburbs, it can aggravate conditions like asthma and hay fever. 

While your ducted air conditioner effectively cools or heats, it works by recirculating your indoor air, pulling it into the indoor unit via the return air grille, through your filter, passing the coil, and finally pushing it out to the rest of the house via your diffusers. Simply having a ducted system and closing your doors and windows is not enough to improve your indoor air quality. For that, you need a high-quality filter. 

Quality filters act as your primary defence to help sanitise your air by trapping airborne pollutants before they circulate through your home.

Protecting Your AC Unit: The Cost of a Dirty Filter

Not only do quality filters help protect your health, but they also protect the health of your ducted air conditioning unit. When a filter becomes clogged with lint, dust, pet hair, and pollutants you can't see like mould spores and dust mites, it can trigger a chain reaction of costly damage:

1. Restricted Airflow and Motor Strain

   A dirty filter severely restricts the volume of air that can flow through the system. This forces your unit’s indoor fan motor to work much harder and longer than it was designed to.

   • Damage: The constant strain and overheating can lead to premature wear and tear, eventually causing the motor to fail. 

   • Cost: Higher energy consumption and steeper energy bills as the unit draws more power to compensate for the blocked airflow. Replacing an indoor fan motor is often one of the most expensive repairs for an AC system - second only to replacing the indoor coil.

     
     

2. Indoor Coil Contamination

   When lint, dust, pet hair, mould spores and dust mites bypass a poor-quality or a worn down filter, they can accumulate directly on the indoor coil—the part of your system responsible for cooling the air.

   • Damage: This build-up creates an insulating layer that prevents the coils from absorbing heat effectively (a process called heat transfer). The unit struggles to cool the air, causing the system’s efficiency to plummet.

   • Result: The indoor coil can become too cold, leading to ice formation. This can generate mould growth and could further block airflow leading to operational failure.

     
     

3. Reduced Efficiency and System Lifespan

   Contamination and airflow don't just cause localised issues; they drastically reduce your unit's overall energy efficiency, causing continuous additional strain and overheating of the unit. 

   • Damage: Over time, this constant stress accelerates the deterioration of every component - from the indoor coil and fan motor to electrical parts.

   • Result: Persistently higher utility bills due to wasted energy. The accumulated deterioration can lead to more frequent, unexpected breakdowns or the premature and forced replacement of your entire ducted air conditioning system.

AirClean G4 V-Pleat Disposable Filter available from National AC Parts

Understanding Your Filter Options

Selecting the right AC filter is a crucial balancing act: you need maximum air quality improvement without sacrificing the optimal airflow necessary for your system's efficiency and low energy bills.

The performance of a ducted filter is determined by both its construction style (Panel vs. Pleated) and the material's efficiency rating (G2 vs. G4).

1. Construction: Panel vs. Pleated

Flat Panel Filters

• Common choice for installers

• Often supplied with the return air grille

• Typically a polyester material infill

• Captures large contaminates like hair and lint

• Minimal protection against allergens like mould spores and dust mites

• Short lifespan of 6-12 months

Pleated Filters

• Often found in commercial and high-end ducted systems

• Made from high-grade woven material folded into V-shaped pleats

• Increased surface area of up to 2.5 x

• Maximum protection against allergens like mould spores and dust mites

• Longest lifespan of 12-24 months

2. Filter Quality: G2 vs G4

G2

• Basic entry-level filtration

• Captures less than 65% of course dust

• Provides little benefit to allergy and asthma sufferers

G4

• ISO16890 rating for significant filtration

• Captures + 90% of course dust

• Certified to improve indoor air quality for allergy and asthma sufferers

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Introducing the Best of Both Worlds: AirClean V-Pleat Disposable G4 Filter

National AC Parts is proud to partner with AirClean Filters™ supplying high-efficiency pleated filters that tick all the boxes for ducted air conditioning systems designed with a panel filter track system.

AirClean Filters™ is an Australian company who have an unwavering commitment to providing ducted air conditioning filters that improves the quality of air that people are breathing in their homes and workplaces.

The unique superior performance of a v-pleated design with the high-efficiency of G4-rated material is recognised by the National Asthma Council Sensitive Choice program for superior air filtration because of their;

• Optimal Airflow: This filter achieves enhanced filtration along with 65% more airflow than other standard ducted air conditioning filters, and

• Superior Air Quality: By combining the G4-rated material with a pleated design that offers 70% more pleats than cardboard V-form panel filters, these filters deliver improved indoor air quality by capturing smaller pollutants, including pollen, mould spores, and dust mites.

National AC Parts providing quality filters for better indoor air quality

National Asthma Council Sensitive Choice

AirClean

Investing in an AirClean G4 V-Pleat Disposable Filter is the most effective way to maintain your air conditioning systems performance, save energy, and provide healthier indoor air quality and better comfort. 

The change from a panel filter to a v-pleated filter has never been easier.  Contact us on 1300 904 554 or email your filter size to info@nationalacparts.com.au and our team are ready to help you make the change.