Camfil Absolute VG Equivalents: V-Bank HEPA Sizes, Classes and Replacements

What Absolute VG is

Absolute V is Camfil's family of V-shaped HEPA filters for final filtration in air handling units, housings and diffusers where airflow is high and pressure drop must stay low. Camfil describes it as a final HEPA stage in make-up air and recirculation units, protecting the terminal HEPA filters of cleanrooms, and as an exhaust filter [1].

The family has two frame types. Absolute VG has a lightweight plastic frame that can be incinerated after use; Absolute VE has a galvanised sheet-metal frame. Glass-fibre media is pleated with hot-melt separators into rigid packs, the packs are set in V-shapes, and an endless polyurethane foam gasket seals the flange. Camfil offers classes E10 to H14 and states that each filter is individually tested to EN 1822, with a scan test and a serial number on the label [1].

Our AR303 V-bank HEPA filter uses the same layout: several mini-pleat micro-glass-fibre panels with hot-melt spacing, arranged in a V inside a 292 mm deep frame.

How to read the type code

In Europe the current ranges are VGXL and VGXXL. A code such as VGXL13-595x595x292 gives the range (VGXL), the EN 1822 class (13 for H13, 14 for H14, 10 to 12 for E10 to E12) and the width, height and depth in millimetres. Codes in the ProSafe range end in PS. VGXXL is a higher-airflow version offered in the 610 mm face sizes [2].

In the United States, Camfil lists Absolute VG with a gasket seal, a minimum efficiency of 99.99% at 0.3 µm and airflow up to 2,400 cfm (4,000 m³/h) [3]. The US efficiency figure is measured at a fixed 0.3 µm, while the European class is measured at the most penetrating particle size (MPPS), so a US rating and an EN 1822 class cannot be converted exactly [4]. When you order against a label or a specification, give us whichever of the two it names.

Sizes, airflow and our nearest AR303 size

Camfil values are from the Absolute VGXL, VGXXL ProSafe product page [2]. AR303 values are our catalogue ratings for the 99.97% / 99.99% grades. Our 595 mm sizes are 592 mm on one side; when you order against a Camfil code, we build to its exact face size and 292 mm depth.

Pressure drop: compare at the same airflow

The table shows a real difference. At 595 × 595 mm, Camfil rates the VGXL H13 at 3,400 m³/h with 220 Pa initial pressure drop, while our catalogue rates the AR303 at 3,000 m³/h with 250 Pa. At 610 × 610 mm the two are rated at 3,400 m³/h and close to 250 Pa. Ratings at different airflows cannot be compared directly, because pressure drop rises with airflow.

The fair comparison is the initial pressure drop of each filter at your design airflow. Send us that airflow and we state the initial pressure drop of the filter we quote at that flow, together with the test report. For a fan that runs all year, a few tens of pascals make a measurable difference in energy use, so this is worth checking before you switch.

Camfil recommends changing VGXL filters at twice the initial pressure drop, with a maximum final pressure drop of 600 Pa, and allows up to 1.1 times the nominal airflow [2]. Our catalogue final pressure drop for AR303 is 500 Pa, twice its 250 Pa initial value.

Frame, gasket and temperature

These are the points where an equivalent can differ from the original, so check them against your housing and process.

Camfil data from [1], [2] and [3]. We do not make a plastic-frame V-bank HEPA filter. If your site needs an incinerable frame or a ProSafe-certified filter, a metal-frame AR303 is not a like-for-like replacement.

Efficiency class and test report

EN 1822-1 sets the classes by efficiency at the MPPS: H13 is at least 99.95% and H14 at least 99.995%. For H13 and H14 the standard also requires every filter to be leak-tested and supplied with its own test report [4]. A specification that names Absolute VG in class H13 or H14 should therefore be answered with an individual test report for each filter, not just a catalogue figure.

When you order AR303 against an Absolute VG code, we build it to the EN 1822 class named in the code or specification and send the test report with the quote, so you can check it before switching. Our catalogue also describes ULPA versions; those are quoted per order.

How to order

• Send the Camfil type code and size from the label, or a photo of the label.
• Give the quantity for each size and the design airflow per filter.
• Tell us the frame material, the flange format and where the gasket must sit, or send the housing drawing.
• Tell us the operating temperature and humidity if the air is warm or wet.
• We reply with a drawing, a price and our test report for the class, so you can compare before switching.

Camfil, Absolute, Absolute VG, VGXL, VGXXL and ProSafe are trademarks of Camfil AB. Yiding is not affiliated with Camfil. Camfil data on this page comes from Camfil's published product pages and is used only to identify the size, class and airflow to be matched.