Installation of a 5-head GREE FreeMatch R32 heat pump (GWHD(42)ND6MO) in Saint-Clet, Vaudreuil-Soulanges

Who legally has the right to work on your heat pump, and why the answer matters most two years later

The client from Saint-Clet had three quotes on the table. The gap between the lowest and highest amounted to several thousand dollars for an apparently identical five-zone system. The question he asked us is the right one, and almost no one asks it: “what do I lose if I choose the cheapest option?” The answer is not about comfort or efficiency, but about what remains on file when something goes wrong—a warranty, a rebate, an insurance claim, or a home sale.

Saint-Clet: an agricultural village, a rural house, no ductwork

Saint-Clet is a small agricultural municipality in the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, on the plain extending north of Highway 20, between Coteau-du-Lac, Les Cèdres, and Saint-Polycarpe. The area is almost entirely farmland, homes are scattered along the concession roads, and electricity is distributed through long rural feeder lines.

The house is old, expanded over the decades, heated entirely with electric baseboards, and has no ductwork. Five zones were selected: a large open living area occupying most of the ground floor, two intermediate rooms, and two small bedrooms upstairs beneath the finished attic.

Five zones, and the highest ratio we have published

Five indoor units require the GWHD(42)ND6MO: it is the only model in the FreeMatch R32 lineup that accepts five heads, with the connection limit detailed in our Sainte-Martine article.

Installed distribution: 24,000 + 12,000 + 12,000 + 6,000 + 6,000 = 60,000 BTU/h, or 143% of the compressor's nominal cooling capacity. This is the highest ratio we have documented, and it calls for a frank explanation rather than a sales pitch.

Why this is justified here:

• The large living area is the only space actually occupied from morning until night. It receives 24,000 BTU/h because it accounts for nearly half of the home's load on its own.
• The finished attic is used only at night. Its two small bedrooms receive 6,000 BTU/h, a capacity chosen to avoid short cycling from an oversized head in rooms of just a few square metres.
• The two intermediate rooms alternate according to the seasons and how they are used.

Its limitation, which we state in the contract: the compressor will never deliver 60,000 BTU/h. The 143% ratio works only because demand calls do not occur simultaneously. On a January night when all five zones call for heat at once, each room receives a fraction of its rated capacity. This is precisely why no baseboard heaters were removed and the baseboard thermostats were set 2 to 3 °C below the head-unit setpoints. The principle of load diversity and its limitations are discussed in our article about Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu.

Outdoor unit data:

• 42,000 BTU/h nominal cooling capacity (modulation from 8,870 to 44,300), 44,300 BTU/h heating capacity (modulation from 8,870 to 54,590)
• SEER2 21, HSPF2 10, EER2 12, COP 3.9, ENERGY STAR certified
• MCA 30 A / MOCP 45 A, single dedicated circuit, indoor units powered by the outdoor unit
• R32, 2,700 g factory charge, 50 m precharge, maximum 100 m, 25 m elevation difference, 20 g/m additional charge
• AHRI 214931590 (ductless), 214931596 and 214931600 for the ducted and mixed variants
• Heating range -30 °C to 24 °C, G10 inverter, intelligent defrost, A2L detector included, automatic voltage adjustment

Five measured lengths: 8 + 10 + 13 + 15 + 20 m, for a total of 66 m of developed length, therefore 320 g of weighed R32 beyond the factory charge.

The licence, and how to verify it in two minutes

In Quebec, construction work, including the installation of an HVAC system, is reserved for contractors holding a licence issued by the Régie du bâtiment du Québec, in the subcategories corresponding to the work being performed. This licence is not a logo on a truck: it is a number listed in a public registry that can be consulted online free of charge, which also shows any restrictions and the licence status.

The approach we recommend to every homeowner, regardless of which company is selected:

1. Require the licence number on the quote, not just on the website.
2. Check it in the RBQ registry before paying a deposit, and verify that the subcategories properly cover the type of work.
3. Request the CNESST compliance certificate and proof of current liability insurance.
4. Refuse any cash payment without an itemized invoice: without an invoice, there is no proof of installation, which is enough to void the extended warranty and cause a subsidy application to be rejected.

Refrigerant is not an ordinary supply

This is the point most homeowners overlook, and it is more restrictive than the license itself.

The R32 is a halocarbon. Its handling in Quebec is governed provincially by the provincial halocarbon regulation and federally by regulations governing ozone-depleting substances and their substitutes. Three concrete consequences:

• Deliberately releasing refrigerant into the atmosphere is prohibited. Venting a circuit into the open air to “flush out moisture” before pulling a vacuum is not an old-fashioned method; it is an offense—and it is also poor technical practice, since only a deep vacuum with a rise test actually removes moisture, as we explained in our Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague article.
• Handling requires recognized certification, held by the person performing the work, not just by the company.
• Recovered refrigerant must be recovered using the proper equipment and sent through a recovery channel with traceability.

On this job, no existing equipment contained refrigerant. On a replacement, this step appears on the work order, and the customer must be able to ask where the refrigerant from the old system went.

What a non-compliant installation really costs

The price of a quote that is too low is never paid on installation day. It is paid later, and always at the worst possible time:

• Warranty. The manufacturer's 10-year warranty, extended to 12 years upon registration with the distributor, assumes installation by a qualified contractor and proof of installation. Without a compliant invoice, the conversation with the manufacturer ends before it begins.
• Rebates. Programs require an invoice from a licensed contractor and a unit whose AHRI code matches the configuration actually installed. An incomplete file is not discussed; it is rejected.
• Insurance. After water damage caused by a poorly sloped condensate drain or an electrical fire, the insurer asks who performed the work. An unlicensed installation complicates a claim, sometimes decisively.
• Resale. A documented, registered system that is still covered by a transferable warranty is a selling point. A system without paperwork becomes a bargaining discount.

The six documents we leave with the customer.

For a five-zone system, the file provided at the end of the job contains:

1. The detailed invoice with the RBQ license number.
2. The commissioning sheet: serial number of each indoor unit matched to its room, measured line lengths, weighed additional charge, recorded pressures and temperatures.
3. The AHRI code for the combination actually installed.
4. Warranty registration confirmation from the distributor.
5. The circuit number at the panel and the name of the electrical contractor.
6. A written note on the balance point and the role retained by the baseboard heaters.

The boundary between the HVAC contractor and the master electrician

Two trades, two licenses, one job site

This is the gray area that causes the most schedule overruns, and it almost never appears in quotes. The electrical connection of a heat pump must be carried out by a licensed electrical contractor with the appropriate license, not by the refrigeration installer. The two trades meet at three pieces of equipment and must coordinate before the big day.

What falls under the electrician’s responsibility:

• The dedicated circuit from the panel, sized based on the 30 A MCA and protected at a maximum of 45 A, as specified by the manufacturer.
• The panel load calculation under the Code, which determines whether the existing service is sufficient. In a row house supplied by a long rural overhead line, this check is not a formality.
• The disconnect switch near the outdoor unit, within sight of the appliance, and the flexible connection to the unit’s electrical box.
• Grounding and bonding continuity.
• The permit and inspection when applicable.

What falls under the HVAC contractor’s responsibility:

• Model and rating selection, line lengths, weighing the additional charge, deep vacuum, commissioning, and the interconnection cable between the outdoor unit and each head — whose port-by-port pairing is covered in our Hinchinbrooke article.

The three gray areas that cost a day

1. “Electricity to be confirmed” in the quote. A phrase that shifts a real cost to the customer after signing. We require the electrical portion to be priced or explicitly excluded, never left pending.
2. Ordering the disconnect switch but not installing it. An outdoor unit weighing 79 kg that is placed in the morning cannot be commissioned in the afternoon if the disconnect switch is not in place. This is the most common reason for a third visit.
3. Calculating the load after the purchase. On this project, it was done before the order. If the service had not been sufficient, the discussion would have been about the electrical panel rather than cancelling an appliance that had already been delivered. The selection logic based on panel capacity is explained in our Saint-Édouard article.

Mistakes to avoid

• Entrusting the electrical portion to an installer who is not an electrical contractor.
• Accepting a quote without a verifiable RBQ licence number.
• Paying cash without a detailed invoice.
• Assuming that 60,000 BTU/h of indoor heads equals 60,000 BTU/h available simultaneously.
• Removing the electric baseboards during the first year, especially at a 143% ratio.
• Estimating the additional refrigerant instead of weighing it: 16 m beyond the factory charge equals 320 g.
• Having refrigerant moved by an uncertified person.

Rebates, warranty, and maintenance

The unit is ENERGY STAR certified and eligible for local rebates. For an electrically heated home, the programs to validate are Hydro-Québec's LogisVert and Rénoclimat; Chauffez vert is intended to replace fossil-fuel heating and does not apply here. The criteria and amounts change: they must be verified when the file is opened, never from a brochure.

A five-zone system means five filters, five pans, and five drains to maintain; the maintenance workload increases with the number of heads, a topic covered in our Sainte-Martine article.

Our coverage

At AirGreen, we design, install, and maintain HVAC — wall-mounted, multi-zone heat pumps, air conditioners, and central systems in Montreal, Laval, Longueuil, the North Shore, and throughout the South Shore, including Saint-Clet, Coteau-du-Lac, Saint-Polycarpe, and all of Vaudreuil-Soulanges. Our licence, certifications, and insurance can be verified before you sign anything, and we prefer that you verify them.