I'm trying to figure out what kind of air filter is appropriate for my house. My local home warehouse store stocks over a dozen options. The primary difference between them seems to be Microparticle Performance Rating, but there are also differences in material (fiberglass vs. composite), shape (pleated vs. flat) and Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value.
This is a two-part question. First, what factors about my home and/or environment should I consider? For example, I've heard that people who smoke, have pets or live in humid areas may, broadly speaking, want higher quality filters.
Second, once I've figured out what factors to look at, what filter characteristics do they correspond to? To extend my previous example (assuming that smoking really does matter and that MPR is legit, not just a number made up for marketing purposes), is there a minimum MPR value that a smoker should get?