No matter what your HVAC questions are, the techs at Kapaun & Brown in Marshalltown have answers. Whether you have questions about selecting new HVAC equipment to best practices on care and maintenance, we are here to help. Our online FAQs answers offer a rapid response for your convenience, but if you want to know more on any topic, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 641-321-6747.

Just like you need to take your car in to the shop for normal tune-ups, such as oil changes or checking out possible problems, your home comfort system should receive the same kind of attention. Scheduled maintenance by a trained technician provides numerous benefits to your HVAC equipment, which can help your systems operate efficiently and prevent costly breakdowns.
The cost varies depending on the equipment size and different features, so we suggest contacting Kapaun & Brown at 641-321-6747 to receive a quote.
Two-stage heating enables the furnace to heat at two levels of output: high for cold winter days and low for mild ones. About 80 percent of the time, your homes heating requirements can be met when the furnace is set on the low setting, enabling your two-stage unit to work for longer periods of time. Two-stage units also offer more even heat distribution, fewer temperature swings, quiet operation, increased air filtration and energy efficiency.
Kapaun & Brown has an assortment of brands and models that are more efficient than ever and make it easier to find the right fit for your home. There are innovative systems that make heating or cooling your home more automatic, functioning similar to cruise control to make tiny adjustments to help meet your comfort demands with energy efficiency. Give us a call at 641-321-6747 to learn more about the technology we offer.
Depending on how old your previous furnace was, you could experience a host of differences. Furnaces today are designed to give more even and efficient heating than ever before. Modern furnaces also better regulate temperature and air flow, moving more air over the heat exchanger than older furnaces.

Additionally, new furnaces are crafted to operate with other high-efficiency HVAC products, such as air conditioners. The air conditioner blowers provide your heating system an extra lift so it can deliver cool air around your home efficiently. Special features like variable speed motors will also help lessen noise associated with operating your equipment and easily meet your family’s airflow needs.

The Department of Energy recently boosted the minimum efficiency levels for air conditioners, heat pumps and packaged units manufactured after Jan. 1, 2015, since heating and cooling contributes significantly to a homes total energy usage. The requirements vary by region, so call Kapaun & Brown for the efficiency standards for Marshalltown.
Kapaun & Brown has a number of HVAC products with high-efficiency ratings, which can help cut back the amount of energy they require to work. Aside from picking products that have received Energy Star® certification or achieved high SEER ratings for air conditioners or AFUE ratings for furnaces, you can consider the following:

  • Making certain that your system receives routine maintenance by a trained professional can keep your system operating at its top performance.
  • Zoning systems enable you to heat or cool only certain areas of your home, so you wont have to pay to heat or cool spaces that you aren’t using.
  • Having a programmable thermostat allows you to set the temperature in your home around your schedule. They can be programmed to give you the comfort you need when you’re home and increase or decrease the temperature while you’re not around, helping you save on utility costs.
Kapaun & Brown is well-known in the Marshalltown area and you can depend on them to provide quality home comfort products. We carry a variety of innovative and high-quality products. We are dedicated to providing customers high-quality service and will make sure you find the right solution for your home.
Improving your home’s indoor air quality starts with four basic strategies:

    • Poor indoor air quality leaves your home full of air pollutants floating around. So, to enhance IAQ, the first step is to get rid of as many pollutants as possible. You can easily do this by cleaning and vacuuming at least once a week, frequently washing linens and storing cleaning products safely.
    • Proper insulation is good for keeping your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer, but it also makes it challenging for airborne pollutants to escape. We carry products that help swap stale air for fresh, filtered outside air.
    • Good ventilation and ongoing cleaning are a start, but air filters, germicidal lights and purification systems take your IAQ to the next level by capturing microscopic particles, killing germs and removing particles while destroying chemical vapors.
    • Programmable thermostats will help control the humidity levels and temperature to help stop particles and germs from building up while also keeping your home comfortable.

We recommend that you meet with one of the technicians at Kapaun & Brown and have them evaluate your home and current indoor comfort system. We can help you decide which equipment will be best suited to meet your needs.

Many homeowners believe that air conditioners make the air in your home cooler, but it actually removes the heat from your home, sending the hot air outside. That hot air moves across a cold indoor coil where refrigerant in the lines sends the heat to the coil in your outdoor unit, releasing the heat outside. This cycle continues until the indoor temperature reaches the temperature you set on your thermostat.
Due to the increasing amount of energy used by heating and cooling systems, the Department of Energy (DOE) hiked up the minimum efficiency levels for air conditioners, heat pumps and packaged units manufactured after January 1, 2015. These levels are determined based on region and carry varying requirements based on your location. Kapaun & Brown will be able to answer any questions you may have regarding these minimum requirements and let you know what choices are available when you’re searching for a replacement system.
You can find these numbers on a nameplate or sticker that is near your systems service panel. The sticker is white with black letters and have both of these numbers located at the top of the sticker. M/N denotes model number while S/N is your serial number.
There are a few ways to determine what size system is the best fit for your home, but the most reliable way to size a system is by having your local Kapaun & Brown technician come out and perform a load calculation. This calculation considers your homes: square footage, insulation value, amount of insulation, and a handful of other factors.
The short answer is Yes. Dirt and other debris can impede your systems ability to work efficiently. For heat pumps, it is common to have frost or ice on them during the winter, but they also feature defrost controls to ensure they work efficiently in those types of conditions.
Two-stage cooling means that your cooling unit has two levels of operation. When summer is its hottest, the high setting is used, and when its cooler or more mild, the low setting handles the duties. Usually, the lower setting will take care of your cooling needs, but even when the high setting kicks in, you may not realize it because it can produce such even temperatures for your comfort. This may also mean a quieter cooling system, greater efficiency and better humidity control.
When your cooling unit freezes up, there are a variety of reasons why it could be doing so. The most common reasons include: dirty filters, low refrigerant, a dirty evaporative coil and a faulty blower motor or relay. A dirty filter is something you can fix as a homeowner, but the others need to be fixed by a professional like those at Kapaun & Brown. Contact them at 641-321-6747 with any other questions.
Picking the best thermostat for your cooling system comes with a lot of considerations. Thats why its nice to have such a great variety of choices from Kapaun & Brown. Whether you’re in the market for for a programmable or non-programmable thermostat or want to join the smart home trend, there are various thermostats that you have to pick from. Some thermostats will depend on what type of heating and cooling system you have, but the experts at Kapaun & Brown will be able to help determine what options fit your needs and your budget.
Heat pumps can be a bit confusing due to their name, but they actually meet both your heating and cooling needs year-round. When its hot outside it runs like an air conditioner in that it removes heat from your home, but when it cools off, the process gets turned around and it collects heat from outside and brings it inside. Heat pumps are also very efficient, and may produce up to two or three times more heat than the energy it uses.

Of course we think you should also replace your indoor system, but this is why:

      • All outdoor cooling systems have a matching indoor unit that they are designed to work with to ensure efficient performance. When they aren’t paired with the other unit as a total system, efficiency can be affected.
      • As with many products, advancements have brought about newer, more efficient ways of doing things. Heating and cooling systems are no different. These improvements most importantly include improved heating and cooling efficiency, but also consist of improved air handling, filtering and noise pollution reduction to name a few.
      • Heating and cooling systems that are more than 10-15 years old usually need to be replaced. Not only do they feature outdated technology, but they are also less efficient than todays models. Buying a new indoor unit at the same time means you’ll have a matched system to provide you with even more comfort and efficiency for years to come.
The communication module on your home energy system might send the system’s performance records for each module to a website. You can visit this website to learn more about the system’s status, energy production and environmental benefits. The site also shares carbon offsets as it happens.
In most locations, rain will naturally clean the solar modules. If you reside in a dusty or industrial area, periodically spraying the modules with water may help improve performance. However, detergents and high-pressure hoses should never be used to clean solar modules.
The right thermostat for you depends on your heating and cooling equipment. Kapaun & Brown has programmable and nonprogrammable thermostats that can help improve the efficiency of your HVAC systems. Browse our available products or contact us at 641-321-6747 to learn more.
Heating and cooling can make up a significant amount of your utility bill. The innovative and high-efficiency heating and air conditioning products available from Kapaun & Brown can help reduce these costs. If you’re searching for a new heating or cooling system, look for products with high SEER ratings for air conditioners and AFUE ratings for furnaces. SEER and AFUE are a measure of system efficiency, and the greater the number, the more efficient the product. Besides purchasing a new home comfort system, think about these additional factors:

      1. Is your system regularly maintained? Whether it’s a furnace or air conditioner, HVAC systems will run more efficiently after regular maintenance checks.
      2. Would you benefit from a zoning system? If there are spaces in your home that are rarely used, a zoning system will allow you to heat or cool only the most used areas of your house.
      3. Have you installed a programmable or smart thermostat? According to the U.S. Department of Energy, programmable thermostats may reduce your heating costs by up to 35 percent, and your cooling costs by up to 25 percent.

Zoning your home allows you the opportunity to divide areas of your home and control the thermostat differently in each area. Zoning tends to be good for when you have parts of your residence that are infrequently used or when you and your family are constantly in disagreement of how hot or cold it ought to be inside. Zoning systems are almost noiseless and efficient, giving you more control over the comfort of your house. Find out more about the equipment available from Kapaun & Brown.