Examining a 3-Month Time-Lapse: Our Filters vs. Real Data

As a startup, we’re always testing our ideas. Recently, we placed a filter in San Francisco’s Mission District, an area with heavy foot and car traffic. To capture the impact of air pollution, we recorded a three-month time-lapse showcasing the visible buildup on our filter, alongside data collected by our smart sensor technology, which measures differential pressure.

This video demonstrates how effectively Woosh MERV 13 filters capture dust, smoke, and smog—while still maintaining capacity. As we covered in our previous article, Looks Can Be Deceiving, a dirty-looking filter doesn’t necessarily mean it has reached its limit. Using our smart sensor technology, we can quantify how much particulate matter the filter captures and track how its efficiency changes over time, as shown in the video.

So why does this matter? Airborne pollutants such as dust, smoke, and vehicle emissions are constantly circulating—especially in urban environments like San Francisco. Our time-lapse video provides a strong visual representation of this reality, reinforcing the importance of effective air filtration.

By integrating real-world testing with sensor-driven data, we provide measurable proof of our filters' performance. This experiment highlights how efficiently our filters capture and retain airborne pollutants, and how smart sensor technology facilitates data-driven maintenance decisions.