Installation of a GREE FreeMatch R32 2-head heat pump in Rigaud

When the building has a fire alarm system, everything changes

Installing a heat pump in a single-family home and installing one in a building for collective use — a residence, apartment building, daycare, or institution — are two different trades.

The equipment is the same. Load calculations follow the same physics. But everything surrounding the job changes: coordination, work sequencing, devices that need to be protected, and the constant presence of occupants who did not choose to live through a construction project.

On this Rigaud project, in Vaudreuil-Soulanges, we installed a GREE FreeMatch R32 2-head configuration system in a building equipped with a complete fire alarm system: zone panel, manual pull stations, audible notification appliances, and a posted evacuation plan.

Here is what this requires, and why it matters.

The first rule: notify before drilling

A fire alarm system continuously monitors the ambient air through its smoke detectors.

These detectors cannot distinguish between smoke and drywall dust.

Drilling into a wall in a corridor equipped with detectors can trigger a general alarm within seconds. In an occupied building, the consequences are not insignificant: evacuation, a fire department dispatch, potential costs, and above all, unnecessary stress imposed on occupants.

Our procedure, before any dust-generating work:

1. Coordination with the building manager to agree on the work window.
2. Notice to the monitoring company or system manager, so that the affected area can be managed appropriately during the work.
3. Protection or isolation of the area's detectors, according to the procedure established by the system manager.
4. Source extraction during drilling rather than cleanup afterward.
5. Documented restoration of service as soon as dusty work is complete.

This last point is the most important, and the one most often glossed over. An isolated detector that is forgotten is a real risk. Recommissioning cannot be put off until the next day.

A contractor who does not ask about the alarm system before taking out the drill has never worked in this type of building.

The second rule: obstruct nothing

On this site, the indoor unit is installed immediately adjacent to a wall-mounted audible notification appliance and an alarm panel, in an area that also contains a manual pull station and a posted evacuation plan.

This proximity requires a checklist that we apply systematically.

Devices that must never be obstructed

• Audible and visual notification appliances (strobes). A visual device whose view is partially blocked by a unit can no longer fulfill its function—and its function is precisely to reach people who would not hear the alarm.
• Manual pull stations. They must remain visible and accessible without obstruction.
• Exit signage and posted evacuation plans.
• Sprinkler heads, when the building is equipped with them. A unit installed beneath a sprinkler head interferes with its spray pattern.
• Access to the alarm panel and control devices.

The practical consequence for positioning

In a single-family residence, positioning a head requires balancing performance and aesthetics.

In a building for collective use, safety comes before both. We map the area's safety devices before choosing the location, and this constraint sometimes rules out the wall that would have been technically ideal.

We then adjust the rest: airflow direction, clearance above the unit for air intake, and pipe routing.

The third rule: the cable raceway is not an admission of failure

In the site photo, a white cable raceway can be seen running along the top of the wall.

In a new or renovated home, we systematically seek to conceal lines in the walls. Here, it is the opposite: the cable raceway is the right choice, and acknowledging it is a sign of professionalism.

Why

• The building is occupied. Opening partitions in a busy corridor means dust, noise, delays, and an area being out of service for days.
• Walls may contain essential services: alarm wiring, communications, and electrical systems. Opening them risks damaging a critical system.
• Fire separations must not be penetrated casually. In a building for collective use, certain walls and floors serve a compartmentation function. Every penetration must be treated accordingly—it is a regulatory requirement, not a preference.
• A duct is reversible. It can be dismantled, modified, and inspected.

A properly installed duct—aligned, with clean angles, following the building's geometry—is careful workmanship. A duct that snakes diagonally because no one planned the route is something else.

The fourth rule: the construction site must not hinder evacuation

This is a detail that few contractors articulate, yet it is fundamental in an occupied building.

A stepladder, toolbox, or coil of piping left in a corridor obstructs an evacuation route.

Our rules for construction in an occupied building:

• Corridors and exits remain clear at all times, including during breaks.
• Equipment is consolidated in an area agreed upon with the person in charge, never spread along the evacuation route.
• Fire doors are never blocked open to make it easier for crews to pass through.
• Noisy work is scheduled according to the building's rhythm, not ours.

Thermal comfort in a continuously occupied building

Beyond the mechanics, there is the project's purpose.

In a building where people live or stay continuously, thermal comfort is not an amenity: it is an operating requirement.

Two realities make this particularly important:

• Vulnerability to heat increases with age, and summer heat events have intensified in Quebec. A common unair-conditioned area becomes unusable during heat waves—precisely on the days when occupants cannot go outside.
• Applicable requirements vary depending on the nature of the facility and its certification. We encourage managers to verify the requirements applicable to their building with the relevant authorities before defining the project scope.

This is also why the continuous dehumidification offered by a modulating system matters as much as cooling. A common room at 24 °C and 45% humidity is comfortable. The same room at 24 °C and 70% is not.

The installed equipment

The selected outdoor unit is the GREE FreeMatch R32, model GWHD(24)ND6MO, powering two indoor heads.

• Rated capacity of 7,030 W (24,000 BTU/h), for both heating and cooling.
• Modulation range from 7,500 to 31,400 BTU/h, G10 inverter compressor.
• Certified heating from -30 °C to 24 °C; cooling up to 48 °C.
• SEER2 21 / HSPF2 10 / EER2 12, ENERGY STAR certified.
• R32 refrigerant (A2L), 1,700 g precharged, integrated leak detection sensor.
• 30 m precharged length, maximum 60 m, maximum elevation difference 15 m.
• MCA of 19.5 A, maximum protection of 25 A at 208/230 V.
• Indoor heads powered by the outdoor unit: a single dedicated circuit.
• Self-diagnostics, intelligent defrosting, automatic voltage adjustment.
• Standard 10-year warranty.

What makes this configuration suitable for a multi-unit building

A single dedicated electrical circuit for two zones. In a building where the electrical panel is often heavily loaded and electrical modifications are more difficult to carry out than in residential settings, this is decisive.

Only one outdoor unit to install, power, maintain, and clear of snow. Less equipment on the façade, fewer maintenance points, and fewer future interventions in a building where every visit must be coordinated.

Self-diagnostics, which makes it possible to identify the nature of a problem before a service visit. In a building where access must be scheduled, reducing the number of visits has tangible value.

Quiet operation in modulating mode, in an environment where ambient noise matters—corridors, common areas, and rest areas.

A2L requirements in multi-unit buildings

R32 is classified as mildly flammable and requires a minimum room volume for each indoor unit, calculated according to the system charge.

In a building subdivided into units and small rooms, this check is essential: it can influence the capacity and position of each indoor unit, and even the system's overall configuration. We perform it during the design stage and provide the documentation to the manager for the building's records.

Financial assistance

GREE documentation indicates that these systems are eligible for local rebates, and ENERGY STAR certification is among the common criteria for energy-efficiency programs.

Programs applicable to a commercial, multi-unit, or institutional building differ from those offered for single-family homes. We verify eligibility based on the building's nature, use, and the programs in effect when the work is carried out, and we provide the required installation documentation.

Maintenance: planning comes first

In a commercial-use building, maintenance cannot be improvised between two calls.

• Indoor unit filters: more frequent cleaning than in residential settings, as occupancy and foot traffic generate more dust. This task fits well into a maintenance service's routine.
• Scheduled annual professional maintenance, with a time window agreed upon in advance rather than an emergency service call during a heat wave.
• Condensate drain inspection, since a failure in a ceiling or corridor has much broader consequences than in a residential setting.
• Deep cleaning of the heat exchanger every two to three years.
• Maintenance file kept by the manager, including the installation record, recorded refrigerant charge, and service history.

Do you manage a commercial-use building, apartment building, or facility in Rigaud, Vaudreuil-Soulanges, or elsewhere on the North Shore, the South Shore, in Montreal, or in Laval, and need to cool an area without disrupting your occupants? Contact us. The first question we will ask concerns your alarm system, not your BTUs.