FAIR LAWN, NJ / Storyteller / Aug 20, 2026 /
A significant portion of the U.S. commercial building stock was designed and built before today’s standard air filter sizes existed. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2018 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey, approximately half of all U.S. commercial buildings were constructed before 1980. The same survey found that only 17 percent of those buildings had upgraded their HVAC systems in the 20 years prior to the survey date.
The result is a large and ongoing sourcing challenge for HVAC contractors and facility managers: the equipment inside many of these buildings takes a filter size that does not exist in any standard catalog. Without a reliable guide to navigate that sourcing process, contractors have historically accepted one of two options — fitting an ill-sized standard filter and living with the air bypass gap, or placing a custom filter order and waiting one to several weeks for delivery.
Brookaire, the Fair Lawn, New Jersey-based commercial air filter manufacturer founded in 1974, has published a free resource to address both problems. The Custom Commercial Air Filters Buyer’s Guide is now available at no cost to HVAC contractors, facility managers, and procurement teams across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and parts of the Midwest.
WHAT THE GUIDE COVERS
The buyer’s guide for commercial custom air filters is organized around the five decision points a contractor or facility manager encounters when ordering a non-standard size for the first time.
Nominal versus actual size. Most contractors know that a filter labeled 20x25x1 does not actually measure 20 by 25 by 1. The guide explains why this rounding exists, what it means for custom orders, and why providing actual slot dimensions rather than a nominal label is the correct approach for any non-standard commercial HVAC application.
Measurement protocol for commercial AHUs. The guide walks through how to measure a commercial filter slot correctly, including why measuring the slot itself rather than the existing filter is essential. Old filters warp, compress, and shift over time. They are not reliable measurement templates. The guide specifies how to record dimensions to the nearest 1/8 inch and what additional steps apply to legacy filter banks with multiple slots that are not always built to consistent dimensions.
MERV rating selection by building type. The guide includes a complete MERV reference table aligned to commercial building categories. General commercial office buildings typically specify MERV 10 to 11. Hospitals, pharmaceutical facilities, and buildings in ozone non-attainment zones require MERV 13 minimum per current ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 241 guidance. Pharmaceutical cleanrooms and surgical suites require HEPA-grade filtration meeting ISO 14644 classification requirements. The guide explains what each MERV level captures and what happens when the wrong MERV rating is specified for a given environment.
Frame and media specification. Commercial custom filters are not a single product type. The guide covers beverage board versus moisture-resistant frame options for high-humidity environments, standard pleated synthetic media versus nanofiber media for MERV 13 applications, and when to request wire backing reinforcement for high-airflow commercial AHUs.
The 48-hour ordering process. The guide closes with a step-by-step ordering protocol showing how Brookaire’s custom filter production works from dimension submission through order confirmation, drawing approval, production, and job-site delivery. The typical production turnaround at Brookaire is 48 hours from order confirmation. No minimum order is required for any quantity.
WHO THE GUIDE IS WRITTEN FOR
The guide is written for HVAC contractors and facility managers working in commercial environments where non-standard filter sizes are a routine part of the job. Several industries encounter this challenge with particular frequency.
Healthcare and hospital facilities. Pre-war and mid-century hospital buildings were constructed around proprietary air handling unit configurations. Many still operate original equipment. Custom filter sourcing is standard maintenance practice for these facilities, and the guide addresses HEPA-specific custom sizing for ceiling-mounted terminal filtration units in surgical suites and isolation rooms.
Pharmaceutical manufacturing. Per ISO 14644 cleanroom classification standards, pharmaceutical manufacturing environments require terminal filtration built to contamination control specifications, not catalog availability. The guide addresses pharmaceutical-specific MERV and HEPA custom sizing in the context of cGMP compliance requirements.
K-12 and higher education. The U.S. Government Accountability Office found in 2020 that 41 percent of school districts need to update or replace HVAC systems in at least half their school buildings. Aging equipment in school facilities generates consistent demand for non-standard filter sizes that do not appear in standard catalogs. The guide addresses the post-pandemic shift to MERV 13 as the recommended standard for school ventilation and what that means for facilities with older, lower-airflow AHUs.
Data centers. Precision cooling units (CRAC and CRAH systems) use manufacturer-specific filter configurations. The guide addresses data center-specific sizing considerations for the Northern Virginia Ashburn corridor, the Newark-Secaucus data center zone in New Jersey, and the Twin Cities data center expansion in Minnesota.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND THE RESOURCE
Currently located in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, Brookaire has operated as a commercial air filter manufacturer and distributor since 1974. The company is third-generation family-operated and manufactures all filters from 100 percent US-sourced materials. The Custom Commercial Air Filters Buyer’s Guide was produced from Brookaire’s own product documentation, customer service experience, and public data from the EIA, ASHRAE, ISO, GAO, and FDA.
The guide is free to read and requires no registration. HVAC contractors and facility managers are encouraged to bookmark it as a reference resource for recurring sourcing decisions.
Read the full guide: Custom Commercial Air Filters Buyer’s Guide.
Order custom filters with 48-hour production and no minimum: brookaire.com/custom-air-filters
Scheduled job-site delivery information: brookaire.com/scheduled-job-site-delivery
ABOUT BROOKAIRE
Brookaire is a third-generation, family-operated manufacturer and distributor of commercial HVAC air filters headquartered in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Founded in 1974, the company operates distribution centers in Fair Lawn NJ, York PA, and Lakeville MN. Brookaire manufactures standard and custom pleated filters, HEPA filters, carbon pleated filters, bag and pocket filters, and the DeltaPleat premium filter line, all from 100 percent US-sourced materials. Services include scheduled job-site delivery, job tagging, real-time tracking, a customer portal for multi-site account management, 48-hour custom filter production, and filter disposal pickup.
Brookaire serves HVAC contractors and facility managers across healthcare, pharmaceutical, data center, education, commercial, food processing, hospitality, and industrial sectors across New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware, Washington DC, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Resource library: airfilters.brookaire.com Custom filters: brookaire.com/custom-air-filters New Jersey coverage: airfilters.brookaire.com/new-jersey Pennsylvania coverage: airfilters.brookaire.com/pennsylvania Minnesota coverage: airfilters.brookaire.com/minnesota
Follow Brookaire: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/brookaire-company Facebook: facebook.com/brookaire Instagram: instagram.com/brookaire YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UChSapJieifNddxqEyqj1ESQ
Media Contact:
Lynne Laake
Marketing Director
Brookaire Corporation
(973) 473-7527
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