4-Zone Heat Pump ARCOAIRE DLCMHB | 30,000 BTU - R410A

Four rooms heated and cooled, a single unit on the balcony or the facade

Equipping a whole home with individual wall-mounted heat pumps means lining up four outdoor units, four electrical circuits and four line routes on the facade. The 4-Zone Heat Pump ARCOAIRE DLCMHB | 30,000 BTU - R410A brings all of that down to a single DLCMHBH30DAK condenser, which feeds four wall heads, each set to its own temperature.

The 2.5-ton condenser serves 4 zones here, which is its maximum of 4. The wall heads intended for it are the DLFSHCH09XAK, the DLFSHCH12XAK and the DLFSHCH18XAK. Its certified ratings are 22.4 SEER2, 12.0 EER2 and 9.5 HSPF2. The system is ENERGY STAR certified under ENERGY STAR ID 2545779 and qualifies for a $1,350 LogisVert grant.

One condenser rather than four: the advantages and the trade-off

The first advantage is visible from the street: a single outdoor unit, set in a single spot, instead of four boxes spread across the walls. The second shows up at the panel: one dedicated circuit rather than four. The third concerns maintenance, since there is only one condenser to clear of snow and clean each year.

There is a trade-off, and we prefer to state it. Every zone depends on the same condenser: if it needs a repair, all four rooms wait together. And the four heads share a single capacity, whereas separate units each have their own. For a well-insulated, mid-sized home, this trade-off almost always favours the multi-zone. For a very large house, we compare both options in the quote.

For a complete mid-sized home

This size targets an entire home whose rooms are separated by walls and doors: a condo 5 ½ with a living room and three bedrooms or an office, one floor of a plex, or a small two-storey house where each room must be handled separately. Four heads cover the living room and each bedroom, without relying on air travelling from one room to another.

Floor area alone is not enough to validate the choice. A corner unit, a very glassy one or one on the top floor needs more than a middle unit sheltered by its neighbours. It is the room-by-room load calculation that confirms the four zones fit on this condenser.

In a condo or a plex: permissions first

In a condominium building, the condenser's location and drilling through exterior walls often fall under the syndicate's authority. Before planning the work, check the declaration of co-ownership and obtain the required approval. We can provide the model numbers and the planned location to support the request. In a plex, the condenser is usually installed on a balcony, on a wall bracket or on the ground in the yard, always above the snow line.

Four heads on 30,000 BTU: the split

With four zones, each head must be chosen precisely. The DLFSHCH18XAK, the largest, goes in the living room. The bedrooms get the smaller ones, the DLFSHCH09XAK or the DLFSHCH12XAK, depending on their size and exposure. Oversizing a head in a small bedroom brings nothing: it reaches its set point too quickly and removes less moisture.

The condenser's inverter compressor adjusts its speed to the number of heads calling and meters the R-410A refrigerant sent to each one. When all four rooms call at the same time, they share the capacity; when the home is half occupied, the active rooms benefit from the rest. All the heads run in the same mode, heating or cooling. With 4 zones out of a maximum of 4, every connection is used.

Winter: 27,000 BTU/h at -8 °C, 23,000 BTU/h at -15 °C

The certificate lists 27,000 BTU/h at -8 °C (17 °F) and 23,000 BTU/h at -15 °C (5 °F), with a COP of 1.65 at the -15 °C point. The two points are measured separately; we report each one as published.

At -8 °C, the condenser keeps 90% of its 30,000 BTU nominal size; that is the temperature of most winter days around Montreal. At -15 °C, a COP of 1.65 means that each kilowatt-hour consumed still returns 1.65 kilowatt-hours of heat, where a baseboard returns one.

This system is ENERGY STAR certified, without the cold-climate designation. In a home heated with electric baseboards, we recommend keeping them as backup: set slightly below the heads' set point, they only come on during deep cold. In cold, humid weather, defrost cycles of a few minutes briefly interrupt the heat, and a cloud of vapour rises from the condenser. This is normal.

These figures come from certificate AHRI 207642993, as published by ENERGY STAR.

Summer in a complete home

In cooling, the system is built around a nominal size of 30,000 BTU/h, distributed among the four rooms. Each zone is set separately: the bedroom of a child who goes to bed early, the office used during the day, the living room in the evening. When you leave for the day, shutting off the bedroom zones concentrates capacity where it is useful. Extended low-speed operation removes moisture from the air, which keeps a home comfortable without having to lower the set point.

The certified ratings, in plain terms

• 22.4 SEER2: cooling efficiency over a whole summer.
• 12.0 EER2: cooling at full load, in hot weather.
• 9.5 HSPF2: heating efficiency over the whole cold season, the rating that weighs most in Quebec.
• COP: the ratio between heat delivered and electricity consumed, at a specific temperature.

The $1,350 LogisVert grant

The system is listed in Hydro-Québec's LogisVert program, with $1,350 for the owner of an existing home, according to the list in effect on the installation date. We confirm eligibility before signing and prepare the detailed invoice, model numbers and proof of payment. Our page on the efficient heat pump grant summarizes the program's conditions.

Installation, maintenance and warranty

Our installation

After the visit and the load calculation, we plan the route of the four refrigerant line sets: each head has its own back to the condenser, and the four are grouped in a line cover for a clean run along the wall. Each head also gets its own sloped condensate drain. The condenser is installed above the snow line, on a wall bracket or a stand, and connected to a dedicated circuit checked at the panel. At commissioning, we pull a vacuum and run a leak test, check each zone one by one, then set up the four remotes with you.

Maintaining four heads

Rinse the filters of each head every two weeks in season; a simple routine is to do them all on the same day. Keep the condenser clear of snow and leaves, without covering it in winter. One HVAC maintenance visit per year cleans the coils, fans and drains of all four heads. Our cleaning service takes over when you prefer to hand off the annual visit.

Warranty

Warranty: 10 years on the compressor, 10 years on parts and 6 years on labor.

AirGreen, for the life of the installation

A family business active for more than fifteen years in Montreal, Laval, Longueuil, the North Shore and the South Shore, we hold RBQ licences for ventilation, refrigeration and electrical work and carry $5,000,000 in liability insurance. The in-home assessment is free, the quote is in writing, and our financing options let you choose the right unit rather than the cheapest one.

Request your free estimate for the 4-Zone Heat Pump ARCOAIRE DLCMHB | 30,000 BTU - R410A. We assess your home room by room and confirm the right size and your grant eligibility before signing.

Available while supplies last.