Electric Furnace GENERAL AIRSTAGE CENTAURI R32 | 1 Ton - 12000 BTU

GENERAL AIRSTAGE CENTAURI AMUH12KUAS 12,000 BTU electric furnace for the bungalow whose basement furnace is on its last legs

An electric furnace that heats with a Heat Pump: that is what we install in the basement when the old furnace reaches the end of the road. The GENERAL AIRSTAGE CENTAURI system pairs the AMUH12KUAS air handler, which connects to the ducts in place of the furnace, with the AOUH12KUAS1 outdoor unit, which draws its heat from the outside air.

These two model numbers are also those of the Fujitsu AIRSTAGE twin in our catalogue. Same machine, same manufacturer’s sheet, same warranty: Fujitsu General Limited simply swapped its name for GENERAL Inc. on January 1, 2026.

The typical scenario for this one-ton size: a bungalow in Sault-au-Récollet, ducts running from the basement to every room, and an electric furnace that has seen more winters than it has left. Rather than buying another box of heating elements, you connect the same ducts to a heat pump that heats in winter, cools in summer and dries out the heavy July air.

GENERAL or Fujitsu AIRSTAGE: the same machine

Nothing changed at the factory; the shareholder did. The buyer is Paloma Rheem Holdings, the group behind Rheem since 1988; the deal closed in August 2025, and on New Year’s Day 2026, Fujitsu General Limited officially turned into GENERAL Inc. Its head office and R&D centre, for their part, remained in Kawasaki (Japan). AIRSTAGE model numbers have not changed by a single character, and neither has the warranty program. Since February 2026, Canadian sales have been handled by Rheem Canada; our supplier remains Groupe Master.

The Fujitsu name will leave the products in stages; in the meantime, you will find this machine under either brand. So we keep both product pages online; in the table below, they carry the same figures from top to bottom.

You can open the Fujitsu AIRSTAGE CENTAURI 12,000 BTU electric furnace page and compare for yourself.

In a replacement like this one, here is how we sort things out during the visit:

• what stays: the duct system, the grilles and the return air, once checked;
• what goes: the electric furnace, cabinet and elements included;
• what comes in: the air handler on the plenum, the outdoor unit on a pad or a bracket and, between the two, the refrigerant line set, the drain and the cable;
• what changes roles: electric heat, now handled by a compatible manufacturer electric backup heat kit that goes into the air handler, sold separately and wired to a dedicated power supply.

The AMUH12KUAS cabinet is 17.5 in. wide, 21 in. deep and 43 in. high. We measure the space freed up by the furnace and the height up to the plenum; if a transition piece is needed between the unit and the existing plenum, it is in the quote. In a basement, the air handler is normally installed in upflow, like the furnace it replaces, but it can also blow downward, with the UTD-DFMSB1 kit, or lie on its left or right side when the ceiling is low.

On a cold January night, the roles split like this. The outdoor unit adjusts the speed of its Inverter compressor and supplies the base heat; the air handler pushes it through the ducts. If the house asks for more than the heat pump delivers, the air handler turns on the backup kit according to the logic selected among those it offers, then shuts it off when demand drops. The furnace did everything with its elements; here, they only step in as reinforcement.

At −8 °C, the manufacturer’s sheet lists 10,600 BTU for a COP of 1.36; at −15 °C, 16,100 BTU for a COP of 2.06. These two measurements come from different test points: take each one for what it is, without setting one against the other. Rated heating capacity is 16,000 BTU at 8.3 °C (range of 3,400 to 17,800 BTU), and the manufacturer claims for the series a rated heating capacity up to 33% above nominal capacity. The outdoor unit heats down to −21 °C, and the brochure announces “no lockout” at low temperatures.

One ton remains a small capacity, made for a modest, well-insulated bungalow. In a bigger or colder house, the backup would run too often: we would then suggest a larger size from the same series. Capacity is set at the visit, not from the old furnace’s nameplate.

In summer, the unit that was heating blows cool air through the same grilles: 12,000 BTU nominal, modulated from 3,100 to 13,600 BTU, and dehumidification of 1.29 pints per hour, which you notice in a bungalow where all of daily life happens on one floor. AHRI certificate 217290592: 19.9 SEER2, 10.3 HSPF2 and 13.0 EER2; ENERGY STAR certifies it in the cold climate category (ID 4428945).

In a bungalow basement, the air handler works right below the bedrooms. At idle, it holds at 30 dB(A); at full speed, it does not go above 42 dB(A). Outside, the compact AOUH12KUAS1 unit is rated at 49.0 dB(A): never, if it can be avoided, under a bedroom window, yours or the one next door.

The air handler moves up to 500 CFM and works with an external static pressure between 0.08 and 0.80 in. WC. With a heat pump, the blower runs for long stretches at low speed instead of blowing in big hot bursts, and a choked duct gives itself away at the farthest grilles. So we measure the duct system before reusing it; the number of grilles or an added return air are decided at that point.

Between the two units, the refrigerant line set, in 1/4 and 3/8 in., runs at least 16 ft (5 m) and at most 98 ft (30 m); the allowed height difference is 49 ft (15 m), and the unit ships precharged for 66 ft (20 m). The system connects at 208/230 V (MCA of 15 A), after we check your electrical panel. A refrigeration technician handles commissioning and sets up the backup, and an access hatch stays in front of the filter and the service panels.

The control is chosen separately: a KAGAMI UTY-RVRU or UTY-RNRUZ5 wired controller on the wall, the AIRSTAGE Mobile app over Wi-Fi, a third-party 24 V thermostat connected through the UTY-TTRXZ1 interface, or the wireless remote of the IR receiver kit. Day to day, the filter is changed through the hatch (optional 16 × 20 in. filter base), the built-in leak detection keeps an eye on the R-32 circuit, and service monitoring runs through a compatible controller.

Hydro-Québec lists this system under LogisVert: a $1,272 grant according to the October 27, 2026 list. On the manufacturer’s side, coverage is 12 years on compressor and parts, and 6 on labour. For dimensional drawings and complete performance data, the manufacturer’s spec sheet comes with the product in its bilingual GENERAL version, prepared by AirGreen.

It is meant for the owner of a small bungalow already equipped with ducts who wants to replace the electric furnace without touching the air distribution, and gain air conditioning along the way.

Official brochures

The manufacturer's brochures are available as PDF files:

• Brochure in French (PDF)
• Brochure in English (PDF)

Sault-au-Récollet and all of Montreal: the visit first, the free quote after

In Sault-au-Récollet, we go down to look at the furnace, the plenum connection and the return air, then we head outside to find where the outdoor unit should go. Afterwards, a free quote spells out the equipment, the backup kit, the control and the applicable grant. AirGreen, an HVAC contractor and AIRSTAGE Elite Plus installer, covers the island of Montreal, Laval, Longueuil, the North Shore and the South Shore.

One phone call to 514 316-2973, and we set the time of the visit.