GENERAL AIRSTAGE CENTAURI R32 Electric Furnace | 2 Tons - 24000 BTU

GENERAL AIRSTAGE CENTAURI AMUH24KUAS 24,000 BTU electric furnace: in the semi-detached house, the ducts stay and, if possible, so does the 24 V thermostat

Replacing an electric furnace does not mean starting over. In a semi-detached house whose duct system is in good shape, the GENERAL AIRSTAGE CENTAURI 24,000 BTU (2-ton) electric furnace plugs into what is already there: the AMUH24KUAS air handler goes in where the old furnace stood, on the same plenum, and the AOUH24KUAS1 outdoor unit supplies the heat as a Heat Pump.

Number for number, this is the system sold under the Fujitsu AIRSTAGE name: the same machine, the same manufacturer’s sheet, the same warranty. On January 1, 2026, Fujitsu General Limited adopted the name GENERAL Inc.; the equipment itself did not change.

What matters in this scenario, a semi-detached house in Champfleury for example: not opening the ceilings to redo the ducts, and keeping the 24 V wall thermostat if possible. Both are possible, subject to the checks described below. And Hydro-Québec has listed it in the LogisVert program.

GENERAL or Fujitsu AIRSTAGE: the same machine

This new name is not a marketing move; it comes from a sale. Paloma Rheem Holdings, which has counted Rheem among its companies since 1988, bought Fujitsu General in August 2025; the corporate name GENERAL Inc. took effect on January 1, 2026. For you, the list of changes ends there: in Kawasaki, Japan, the head office and R&D centre are the same, as are the production lines, the AIRSTAGE model numbers and the warranty.

Rheem Canada has handled Canadian sales since February 2026; as for us, we still buy from Groupe Master. Until the Fujitsu brand has finished its withdrawal, both names will be sold side by side; so we publish both product pages and let you judge for yourself in the table.

The Fujitsu counterpart of this system: Fujitsu AIRSTAGE CENTAURI electric furnace, 2 tons and 24,000 BTU.

The first thing you keep: the ducts. A duct system installed for an electric furnace was not designed for a heat pump, but it can serve one very well, provided it is checked. The figure that decides is static pressure, in other words the resistance the duct system puts up against the blower. The AMUH24KUAS handles between 0.08 and 0.80 in. WC of external static pressure and moves up to 750 CFM: a wide range, which leaves room for ducts from another era.

At the visit, we take the pulse of the existing duct system:

• static pressure, read at the supply plenum and at the return air;
• the size and condition of the main ducts and the branches;
• the number and size of the return air openings, often the weak link in older duct systems;
• grilles that are closed, blocked or badly placed;
• the tightness of the joints visible in the basement.

If a reading falls outside the air handler’s range, we propose a targeted correction, for example an added return air or an enlarged section, rather than a new duct system. That is when, readings in hand, the layout and the number of grilles are settled.

The second thing you can keep: the wall thermostat. The system accepts a third-party 24 V thermostat, connected through the optional UTY-TTRXZ1 interface. What remains to be seen is what your thermostat can do: a model meant for an electric furnace alone generally handles neither cooling nor the heat pump, and in that case we replace it with a suitable 24 V thermostat that the interface connects to the system. Otherwise, other controls are available, all optional since the system includes none: a KAGAMI UTY-RVRU or UTY-RNRUZ5 wired controller, Wi-Fi with the AIRSTAGE Mobile app, or the IR receiver kit, which comes with its wireless remote.

What changes is the heat source. The outdoor unit captures heat outside with an Inverter compressor that modulates its speed, and its refrigerant, R-32, has a low global warming potential; the air handler distributes that heat through your ducts. For the coldest days, it takes the electric backup heat kit the manufacturer designed for it, sold separately and powered by a dedicated circuit, which it manages itself according to one of its built-in logics; the refrigeration technician sets that choice at commissioning.

What the sheet says for winter: 27,000 BTU of rated heating at 8.3 °C, modulating from 5,400 to 32,000 BTU, then two test points published separately, namely 18,200 BTU with a COP of 2.93 at −8 °C and 24,600 BTU with a COP of 2.14 at −15 °C. Since these two measurements do not share the same conditions, we give them without relating one to the other. Heating works down to −21 °C, with no cold-weather lockout according to the brochure. According to the manufacturer, the series’ rated heating capacity climbs up to 33% above nominal capacity.

In a semi-detached house, the outdoor unit always has a neighbour. It is rated at 54.0 dB(A); fortunately, the refrigerant line set (1/4 and 1/2 in.) allows up to 164 ft (50 m) and no less than 16 ft (5 m), a height difference of 98 ft (30 m) and a precharge for 66 ft (20 m), which lets us move the unit away from the terrace next door.

Indoors, 28 dB(A) at minimum speed, 42 dB(A) at the top. The cabinet (17.5 × 21 × 43 in.) sits in the basement in upflow where the furnace was, but it also accepts downflow with the UTD-DFMSB1 kit and the horizontal position, left or right.

In summer, the same machine cools through the same grilles: 24,000 BTU nominal, with modulation from 5,400 to 28,000 BTU, and 3.08 pints of water removed from the air every hour. AHRI certificate 217290594 records 17.7 SEER2, 10.1 HSPF2 and 11.8 EER2, and the system carries ENERGY STAR cold climate certification (ID 4428948).

The job follows a familiar sequence: furnace removal, air handler set on the plenum, return air connection, access hatch for maintenance and the filter, refrigerant line set, cable and drain to the outdoor unit set on a pad, connection at 208/230 V, then commissioning by a refrigeration technician. Afterwards, maintenance goes through the hatch, where the filter is changed (with an optional 16 × 20 in. filter base); the built-in leak detection watches over the refrigerant, and an existing humidifier or HRV can be connected to the air handler’s input/output terminals.

The grant carries weight in this project: Hydro-Québec’s LogisVert list of October 27, 2026 assigns $2,184 to this system. Since Hydro-Québec updates this list, the amount is rechecked on the day of the quote. Warranty from the manufacturer: 12 years for compressor and parts, 6 years for labour. For performance data and dimensional drawings, open the bilingual spec sheet that comes with the product, in the GENERAL version prepared by AirGreen.

This system suits the mid-sized semi-detached house whose duct system passes our checks and whose load matches 2 tons. If the calculation shows more, the CENTAURI series goes up in capacity without changing principle.

Official brochures

The manufacturer's brochures are available as PDF files:

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

Champfleury and everywhere in Laval: your free quote, with the ducts measured

In Champfleury, we measure the static pressure of your ducts, look at your thermostat and choose with you where to set the outdoor unit. In the free quote, you will find the duct work if any is needed, the selected control and the applicable LogisVert grant. As an HVAC contractor and AIRSTAGE Elite Plus installer, AirGreen covers Laval from end to end and also travels to Montreal and Longueuil, on the North Shore as well as the South Shore.

To plan the visit, call 514 316-2973.