Aprilaire5000 Air Cleaner

ha... I suppose you can call it an air filter... but they say Air Cleaner...I ordered this to add to my old furnace, but then decided to upgrade the furnace too. So I had the HVAC guy put it in when they installed the new furnace.Then we had the ducts cleaned too.All the HVAC guys and the duct cleaner guy made comments about this being a great air cleaner.We've been using it for a few weeks now and it seems to work just fine. Our new furnace has the variable speed blower so we just leave the blower on 24-7 (it runs at very low speed till the furnace or AC kicks on)Because of this, we aren't using the fancy air cleaner control right now... so I can't comment on that.I also can't comment yet about filter life.But one interesting thing... the filter comes in a little box... its not in a cardboard frame like you might be used to seeing with standard filters (when I first opened the air cleaner I thought they forgot to include the filter!)The filter is all collapsed (like an accordion) and you have to install it into the plastic frame. This is pretty easy to do - you just snap on the top and bottom and then insert a bunch (6 maybe?) of plastic combs between the filter pleats to hold them in the proper position. The filter is about 4" or 5" thick... which creates a lot of surface area for collecting dust and whatnot. (standard filters are only 1" thick)Once you have it in place, you snap the ends of the plastic box shut... they have foam or something on them so they seal up tight against the ends of the filter medium to prevent any air from "bypassing" the filter.I mainly mention this for those that might wonder why replacement filters are only like $25 (last I checked)... I think the low cost is because the filter isn't in a cardboard frame which would require more assembly and shipping costs.Anyway, this is rather expensive - but it seems to be one of the more affordable options for a better air cleaner. Plus if these filters really do last a year then there is some savings on buying filters... I probably replaced my old style filter 3-4 times a year at 12-15 bucks per filter. If you want to upgrade your current filter then this seems to be a good way to go.*** UPDATE 19 July 2012 ***I replaced the air filter last night (for the first time). It was definitely time to replace it. After about 9-10 months of use it was rather dirty and perhaps starting to limit air flow. They say it should be good for 12 months, but I have a variable speed furnace blower so I leave it on all the time (it runs slowly except when calling for heat or AC) which I assume probably reduces the life of the filter.But of course I get constant air filtration (and better temperature regulation) by keeping the blower on so I'm OK with this.While changing the filter I washed the metal screen and wiped down the wires. There was some dust buildup on these. Other than that, I just swept out the nooks/crannies on the filter box (the upstream side had some dust accumulation) and put the new filter in.It really isn't that hard to install the filter... it takes a few seconds to get the first spreader bar in, but then the rest pop right in if you start right next to the first one and then slide them into place.I checked the blower box on the furnace while I was re-installing it - I ran my fingers across the bottom and it was perfectly clean. This tells me that this filter is doing a great job.So - I would still recommend that people buy this. It works great!

filter works great, wires break easily and $ to replace. still recommend buying. Has helped with allergies

In my case I needed to install the Aprilaire 5000 inside the house, just behind the primary air filter. I have one of those "package" A/C units with everything outside the house except for the filter for the return air. So I really needed to install the electronic air cleaner inside away from the elements.The Aprilaire 5000 was install by removing the existing ducting behind the primary filter and fabricating a new duct to allow the air cleaner to be installed in the path of the air flow. I already had power in this location and the thermostat was just above the filter location. Hookup was simple and without incident. The only issue was that the power for the air cleaner needs to be switched depending on the A/C unit fan operation.Instead of using the Aprilaire fan switch as recommended by Aprilaire, which assumes your electronic air filter will be installed near the A/C components, I decided that a "sail switch" would be preferred as it could turn on the electronic air cleaner when it sensed air movement in the return duct. In the end what I selected was pressure differential switch,  White Rodgers 770-1 Differential Air Pressure Switch  (I found one on EBay for $25). This switch is ideally suited to this type of application. It comes with a small 1/8" tube that you connect between the switch (low side) and a 1/8" brass barb (Home Depot for a couple of bucks) connected to the return air duct. If your not electrically handy you may want to get an electrician or HVAC guy to hook this up.The unit has been working for a couple of weeks now. Allergy symptoms cleared up within an hour of powering it up. I'm currently running with the 30 min per hour cycle and all is well. I can breath and sleep once again.