GENERAL AIRSTAGE RLXFZ 3-Head Heat Pump | 36,000 BTU Compressor | Montreal, Laval, Longueuil, South Shore and North Shore

GENERAL AIRSTAGE RLXFZ 3-Zone 36,000 BTU Heat Pump: The Electrically Heated Two-Unit Plex, One 15,000 BTU Head and Two 7,000 BTU Heads, Installed by AirGreen

What you see on this GENERAL AIRSTAGE page is the Fujitsu AIRSTAGE system built around the AOU36RLXFZ1 outdoor unit: the same 36,000 BTU compressor, the same 3 zones, the same wall-mounted head configuration, here 7,000 + 7,000 + 15,000 BTU. Fujitsu General Limited became GENERAL Inc. on January 1, 2026, and nothing else has changed. AHRI certificate 8071548, the values published by the manufacturer and the warranty of 12 years on the compressor, 12 years on parts and 6 years on labour go with the machine under both of its names.

The two-unit plex heated with electric baseboards is a Montreal classic. In winter, each unit runs its baseboards; in summer, everyone puts in window air conditioners, and the rear façade gets covered with boxes dripping onto the balcony below. A single multi-zone heat pump can serve both units: three wall-mounted heads, one outdoor unit, and baseboards that are only used as backup.

In Rosemont and La Petite-Patrie, where brick duplexes line entire streets and the back often opens onto a lane, the outdoor unit finds its place in the yard or on a wall bracket. This page's configuration, one 15,000 BTU head and two 7,000 BTU heads, lends itself well to two units that share neither the same size nor the same exposure.

GENERAL or Fujitsu AIRSTAGE: the same machine

Here are the facts, in order. August 2025: Paloma Rheem Holdings, owner of Rheem since 1988, acquires Fujitsu General. January 1, 2026: the company becomes GENERAL Inc. Before and after, nothing moves in Kawasaki, Japan, where the head office and the R&D centre remain; the factories, the AIRSTAGE products, the model numbers and the warranty program stay. The Fujitsu brand is stepping back gradually, and in the meantime the same AOU36RLXFZ1 outdoor unit is sold under both names.

For a plex owner comparing quotes, the detail matters: a "Fujitsu" quote and a "GENERAL" quote for the AOU36RLXFZ1 cover the same machine. We leave both pages online, and the table below sets them side by side. Canadian sales have been handled by Rheem Canada since February 2026; Groupe Master remains our distributor.

The twin page, under the former name: Fujitsu AIRSTAGE RLXFZ 3-zone 36,000 BTU.

With baseboard heating, it is mostly the winter bill that the heat pump transforms. According to the values published by the manufacturer, the AOU36RLXFZ1 outdoor unit delivers 21,400 BTU of heat at −8 °C and 22,600 BTU at −15 °C. Its COP of 1.82 at −15 °C means that in that cold, the heat pump delivers 1.82 times the energy it consumes, whereas a baseboard gives back exactly what it takes. The HSPF2 of 8.6 expresses that performance over the whole season: the higher it is, the less the share of heating covered by the heat pump costs.

The heating guarantee extends down to −15 °C. This model is not certified for cold climates; the baseboards therefore stay in place in both units and go back to working on their own during the coldest January nights. In practice, the heat pump carries the season, and the baseboards become a safety net.

In summer, the SEER2 of 18.0 and the EER2 of 9.5 frame the cooling: average efficiency over the season on one side, efficiency in the middle of a heat wave on the other. In cooling mode, the system removes up to 3.8 pints of water per hour, which dries out the heavy air of the upper unit. The outdoor unit has a published sound level of 55.0 dB(A), a figure to keep in mind in a yard shared with the neighbours.

Each head has its own set point, so each unit keeps control of its temperature. An honest clarification: as on any multi-zone system of this type, all the heads run in the same mode at any given time, heating or cooling. In a plex, the mode follows the season and the question rarely comes up, but it is better to know before you sign. The Inverter compressor then modulates its output according to the demand of the three heads.

A split that works well: the 15,000 BTU head in the double living room of the upper unit, the one most exposed to the heat of the roof, and the two 7,000 BTU heads on the ground floor, one in the living room, the other in the main bedroom. It is only a starting point. The compressor accepts up to 4 zones, and the heads are chosen with us from six compatible models:

• ASU7RLF1 (7,000 BTU): a closed bedroom, in either unit.
• ASU9RLF1 (9,000 BTU): the single living room of a small unit.
• ASU12RLF1 (12,000 BTU): the kitchen open onto the dining room.
• ASU15RF1 (15,000 BTU): the double living room, centrepiece of this configuration.
• ASU18RLF (18,000 BTU): an open-concept unit served by a single large head.
• ASU24RLF (24,000 BTU): a large unit with the walls taken down, open from end to end.

The fourth available zone makes it possible, for example, to add a cooled bedroom to the upper unit later, with no second outdoor unit in the yard.

In a plex, the installation calls for a few particular precautions:

• The outdoor unit goes in the backyard, on a raised base or on the wall, sheltered from balcony drips and away from the front façade.
• One refrigerant line per head; those for the upper unit climb the rear façade in a line cover, and each passage through the brick is drilled cleanly and then sealed.
• The double living room head is mounted high at the end of the room, so the air travels its whole length.
• The condensate from each head drains to the outside; on the ground floor, a pump is sometimes needed when there is not enough slope.
• The outdoor unit connects on a dedicated circuit to a single panel, the owner's or the common services panel: the consumption of both units therefore goes through that meter, a point to settle in advance with your tenants.
• Commissioning is done by a refrigeration technician, unit by unit, in heating and in cooling.

In a rental building, maintenance has to stay simple for everyone. The indoor filters of each head come out and rinse with water; show your tenants how at commissioning, or include it in your seasonal rounds. Once a year, a refrigeration technician cleans the outdoor unit, checks the drains and inspects the connections. Wi-Fi is offered as an option, handy for keeping an eye on the system remotely.

On the grant, the answer is clear-cut: this model is not ENERGY STAR certified and does not appear on Hydro-Québec's LogisVert list of October 27, 2026. So no assistance should be written into the budget for this system. It makes its case differently: a single outdoor unit for two dwellings, a fourth zone in reserve and a long-term warranty.

It is for the owner-occupant of a duplex in Rosemont or La Petite-Patrie who wants to heat for less and cool both units at once, for the investor owner who wants to make the units more attractive without multiplying appliances, and for undivided co-owners who prefer a single system for the whole building.

Rosemont, Petite-Patrie and Elsewhere in Montreal: Your Free Quote for the Plex

Reach us at 514 316-2973, or submit your free quote request online. We visit both units, look at the yard, the rear façade and the electrical panel, then propose the fairest distribution of heads. AirGreen holds an RBQ licence as an HVAC contractor and the AIRSTAGE Elite Plus installer title; we work in Montreal, Laval, Longueuil, on the North Shore and on the South Shore.