MERV vs FPR vs MPR Cheat Sheet for ALL 3

A Guide to MERV vs FPR vs MPR: Making Sense of the Filter Alphabet Soup

Let’s Demystify FPR vs MERV vs MPR Filtration Ratings!

If you’re ever shopping for air filters, you might come across acronyms like MERV, FPR, and MPR. These are filtration rating systems designed to help consumers choose the right filters for their needs, but they can often be confusing. We’ll break down MERV vs FPR vs MPR and help you make an informed decision about which filter is right for your home or business.

An Interstellar Approach to Understanding Filtration Ratings

MERV vs FPR vs MPR Cheat Sheet for ALL 3 – Understanding filtration ratings can be a lot like watching Interstellar for the first time and leave you confused. Let’s review what MERV, FPR and MPR actually mean. You’ll learn why MERV is the only rating system that matters and why FPR and MPR should be forgotten, like his son Tom in the movie or Tom from MySpace.

MERV or MURPH?

MERV

MERV stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value and is a rating system developed by ASHRAE, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. MERV rating ranges from 1-20 and measures the effectiveness of filters in capturing airborne particles. The higher the MERV rating, the more efficient the filter is at capturing small particles, such as pollen, pet dander, and mold spores. MERV is the industry standard for rating filtration. Period. 💯

FPR

FPR stands for Filter Performance Rating and is a rating system developed by The Home Depot. Like MERV, FPR ranges from 4 and above. It is marketed only by company owned, company licensed or partners of The Home Depot. 🤫

MPR

MPR stands for Microparticle Performance Rating and is a rating system developed by 3M. MPR was created for marketing the Filtrete brand by 3M. Just like MERV, with the MPR rating, the higher the MPR rating, the more efficient the filter is at capturing small particles.

Is it different than MERV? Yes, it is somewhat different because MPR rates on a smaller micron size. In reality it’s pointless as MERV covers MPR sizes and offering so many MPR levels is just marketing ploy to get consumers to buy MPR rated products only. 🤦🏻‍♂️

It’s ALL Marketing

In summary, FPR vs MERV vs MPR is not a thing that should exist. All three are filter rating systems that measure the filters efficiency of capturing airborne particles. MERV is the industry standard and the most commonly used rating system at measuring the efficiency of particle capture. FPR and MPR are just marketing attempts to confuse consumers and primary focuses on capturing sales from uninformed consumers.

MERV vs FPR vs MPR / FPR vs MERV vs MPR – We made this easy MERV vs FPR vs MPR chart for you to decipher the MERV vs FPR vs MPR / FPR vs MERV vs MPR difference.

As you can see with the MERV vs FPR vs MPR air conditioner filter battle, the MERV ratings already filter what’s claimed by these others without a confusing breakdown of added numbers for marketing. Let’s break it down again… FPR to MERV… FPR 7 to MERV 11, FPR 8 to MERV 11, FPR 9 to MERV 11, FPR 10 to MERV 13.

When choosing a filter, it’s important to consider your specific needs and choose a filter with a MERV rating that meets those needs. Forget the battle of MERV vs FPR vs MPR / FPR vs MERV vs MPR. Much like Murphy in the movie, the MERV rating is all that matters and is needed (really though, what good did Tom do in that film)?

FPR vs MERV vs MPR Making Sense of it

Now that you understand the differences between MERV vs FPR vs MPR, you can confidently choose the right filter for your home or business. By choosing a filter with the MERV rating, you can improve indoor air quality and reduce the risk of allergy and asthma symptoms, without feeling confused by the marketing of conglomerates. Lesson is… MERV vs FPR vs MPR is not even a thing. Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions or do additional research to ensure you’re making an informed decision, and to trust Airspire. Isn’t that Airspiring? Happy filtering!

Different MERV Ratings

Now that you know to look for MERV rated furnace air filters. You should learn the difference between the ratings of MERV. The most common four MERV filter ratings are MERV 8, MERV 11, MERV 13 and MERV 16.

Not many homes can safely use a MERV rating above 13 due to the airflow restriction that can stress your HVAC system. That’s why at Airspire we only offer these three MERV ratings: 8, 11 & 13. Read more about MERV ratings here.

MERV vs FPR vs MPR: To keep the lawyers off our backs… FIltrete, MPR, and 3M are registered trademarks of 3M and affiliated companies. HomeDepot and FPR are registered trademarks of The Home Depot and affiliated companies. Interstellar is a copyright and trademark of Paramount Global and affiliated companies. Trademarks mentioned are for consumer awareness. Interstellar is mentioned because it’s awesome.