All About Filter Grilles

All about filter grilles – shown here Beaux-Arts Classic Products handsome historic reproduction Arts and Crafts Style Filter Grille in our Nickel Finish.

Average industrial return air filter grille

Why filter grilles?

As new features are introduced into home heating and air conditioning systems (HVAC), moving the location of air filters from the air-handler to behind each return grille has shown incredible improvements in air quality, as well as long term savings due to maintaining cleaner ducts.  The old approach was to clean the air entering the HVAC air-handler just before the air passes over the condensers.  But that left hundreds of feet of duct work returning dirty air to be filtered and enter the air-handler.  The cost to clean dirty ducts for a moderate home is about $450.  Not cleaning your ducts causes health problems.

The solution to dirty ducts is to move the location of the filters from the utility room where the HVAC system is located to the return grilles located throughout the house.  Return grilles are normally just those few large grilles located throughout your house.

All of the return grilles leading to the condenser must be converted into filter grilles.  A filter grille is a grille that opens and closes to allow filters to be changed on a monthly basis.  So it is more complex than the return grille it replaces.  The filter grille must open, close, have hinges and latches, plus a place to hold a filter.

Filters come in lots of sizes colors, and qualities.

Grille manufacturers make white louvered filter grilles in forty sizes to match the size of filters.  These filter grille units range in price from under $30 for a 10″x10″ filter to $150 for a 24″ x 36″ filter.  So the cost to convert from regular return air grilles to all filter grilles in your house may be equal to one years savings in duct cleaning.  Not a bad return on your investment.

The main problem with a filter grille is that is even uglier than the return air filter grille you just replaced.  First of all it has those same ugly louvers, but it’s bigger and sticks out from the wall about 3/4″.  On top of that it usually has a blue, pink or white filter that can be seen through the louvers.  In addition, it gets dirty.  As a result a filter grille is probably the ugliest item found in many homes.  Unfortunately filter grilles are usually located in prominent positions in foyers, dining rooms, living rooms and kitchens.

Beaux-Arts Class Products makes the best filter grilles sold anywhere.

They are historic replicas of a handsome and important classical grille.  They come in over 60 sizes which are made to fit all the standard sizes used in most homes.  In addition, instead of seeing a pink, blue or white filter behind the grille work, we provide a two sheets of black fiberglass mesh to turn the filter and background black.

Since our filter grilles don’t have louvers, they can actually convey more cubic feet of air per minute than the typical louvered filter grille. As a result, you will notice higher performance and less noise than the typical louvered filter grille. Another advantage is our historic grilles won’t rust, rot, corrode or grow mold, because they are cast in urethane resin.

The Beaux-Arts Classic Productcs filter grille comes with moulding to go around the base metal unit on the wall, and painted to match the grille finish.  This moulding serves to disguise the metal edge of the filter grille’s base unit.  The moulding also enhances the look of the filter grille.  Our clients continually tell us that our filter grilles are the best looking grilles available in the marketplace.  You are receiving a decorative functioning frame that is a work of art.  Well worth the additional cost over our decorative grilles.  Price out a custom frame for you filter grille door assembly….then add on the functioning door, decorative grille and beautiful finishes.  A great value.  The price includes shipping.  Each filter grille is shiped in two boxes, one of which is oversized.

Any of our decorative grilles can be made into a filter grille.  This custom filter was done for a client in Australia.  Australians are just starting to use filter grilles and apparently there is no hardware available.  The  Edwardian paneling did not have the space to accommodate the additional moulding and metal door assembly.  In this case, the brass knurled knobs make it possible to remove the decorative grille to change the filter.