GENERAL AIRSTAGE CENTAURI R32 Central Heat Pump | 2 Tons - 24000 BTU

GENERAL AIRSTAGE CENTAURI AMUH24KUAS 24,000 BTU Central Heat Pump: keep the cottage’s ducts, change the heat source

First things first. The GENERAL AIRSTAGE made up of the AMUH24KUAS air handler and the AOUH24KUAS1 outdoor unit differs in no way from the Fujitsu AIRSTAGE carrying the same numbers: it is one and the same machine. The manufacturer has been called GENERAL Inc. since January 1, 2026; the spec sheet and the warranty have stayed identical.

The scenario here: a cottage from the 1990s, two storeys, a duct system that serves every room, and in the basement a furnace reaching the end of its life. Two paths are open to you. Replace the furnace with a new one and start another cycle, or use this moment to change your heat source. This page describes the second.

In many houses from that era, the duct system still has good years ahead of it. We keep it. The furnace comes out, the air handler takes its place and connects to the plenum, and the outdoor unit goes in the yard. The central heat pump becomes the main heating source, central air conditioning comes as a bonus, and this system is listed for the Hydro-Québec LogisVert grant.

GENERAL or Fujitsu AIRSTAGE: the same machine

Two dates to remember. In August 2025, Fujitsu General Limited came under Paloma Rheem Holdings, which has controlled Rheem since 1988. On January 1, 2026, it became GENERAL Inc. The rest is intact: same head office and same R&D centre in Kawasaki, Japan, same factories, and AIRSTAGE products that keep their model numbers and their warranty program. Since February 2026, Rheem Canada has been the one selling the range in Canada; we still buy from Groupe Master.

The Fujitsu brand is being retired in stages, so the same system can be found today under two names. Rather than choose for you, we keep both product pages online and compare them in the table that follows.

The equivalent Fujitsu page is here: the Fujitsu AIRSTAGE CENTAURI 2-ton, 24,000 BTU.

Changing your heat source, in practical terms, means moving from a unit that produces its heat on the spot to a system that captures it outside. The AOUH24KUAS1 outdoor unit, with its Inverter compressor and its low global-warming-potential R-32 refrigerant, extracts heat from the outdoor air; the refrigerant line carries it to the AMUH24KUAS air handler, which distributes it through your existing ducts. The air coming out of the registers is less hot than a furnace’s, but it circulates longer and more evenly.

The manufacturer’s heating values, as they appear on the spec sheet:

• rated capacity of 27,000 BTU at 8.3 °C, over a range of 5,400 to 32,000 BTU;
• 18,200 BTU and a COP of 2.93 at the −8 °C test point;
• 24,600 BTU and a COP of 2.14 at the −15 °C test point;
• heating operation down to −21 °C, with no low-temperature shutdown according to the brochure.

The two test points do not rest on the same conditions; we present them as they are, without drawing a comparison. What matters for a cottage: the heat pump carries most of the winter, and electric backup heat takes over when demand exceeds what it delivers. To manage that backup, the air handler has several logics and directly drives the manufacturer’s compatible electric kit; the kit is sold separately and needs a dedicated power supply.

Two tons suit many cottages, not all of them. Floor area, insulation, windows and orientation change the picture, and the series goes beyond 24,000 BTU. We confirm the capacity during the visit rather than from floor area alone.

In summer, the same machine cools: 24,000 BTU nominal, modulated from 5,400 to 28,000 BTU, with dehumidification of 3.08 pints per hour. The upstairs bedrooms, often the warmest in the house, finally get cool air through their own registers. On paper, AHRI certificate 217290594 gives the system a SEER2 of 17.7, an HSPF2 of 10.1 and an EER2 of 11.8; ENERGY STAR places it in the cold climate category under ID 4428948.

A duct system designed for a furnace deserves a check before it takes a heat pump. The air handler delivers a maximum airflow of 750 CFM and accepts an external static pressure of 0.08 to 0.80 in. WC. During the visit, we look at the size of the main ducts, the condition of the branches and above all the return air: if one is missing upstairs, adding it is written into the quote.

What happens in the basement on installation day:

• removal of the furnace, according to what its type requires, planned during the visit;
• installation of the air handler in upflow where the old unit stood (it also accepts downflow with the UTD-DFMSB1 kit, and horizontal left or right);
• connection to the supply plenum and the return air, then fitting of an access panel that will serve for maintenance and the filter;
• refrigerant line (1/4 and 1/2 in. piping), cable and drain to the outdoor unit, set on a pad;
• 208/230 V connection (MCA 20 A, MOP 20 A), then commissioning by a refrigeration technician.

The cabinet measures 17.5 × 21 × 43 in. On the refrigerant line side, this model accepts up to 164 ft (50 m), a minimum of 16 ft (5 m) and a height difference of 98 ft (30 m), with a precharge for 66 ft (20 m). That margin often lets us place the outdoor unit on the side of the yard where it bothers the least, away from the bedrooms.

For quiet, the air handler goes down to 28 dB(A) at its lowest and up to 42 dB(A) at its highest. The outdoor unit is rated at 54.0 dB(A).

If your furnace fed a humidifier, or if the house has an HRV or ERV, those devices are not left behind: the built-in input/output terminals connect them to the air handler, just like a fire alarm or a door switch. For control, nothing is included; options range from Wi-Fi through the AIRSTAGE Mobile app to the KAGAMI UTY-RVRU and UTY-RNRUZ5 wired controllers, by way of the UTY-TTRXZ1 interface for a third-party 24 V thermostat and the IR receiver kit with remote. BACnet and Modbus also exist, mostly for a managed building.

Routine maintenance happens through the access panel: check and change the filter, with a 16 × 20 in. filter base available as an option. The built-in leak detection system monitors the refrigerant, and compatible controllers allow service monitoring.

On the money side, Hydro-Québec’s LogisVert list of October 27, 2026 lists this system for a $2,184 grant. We check the listing at the time of the quote, since the list changes. The manufacturer’s warranty program provides 12 years for the compressor, 12 years for parts and 6 years for labour. Full performance data and dimensioned drawings are in the attached spec sheet, available in French and English in its GENERAL version prepared by AirGreen.

This system is for the owner of a cottage that already has ducts, whose furnace needs replacing, and who would rather invest in a central heat pump than in another furnace.

Val-des-Arbres and all of Laval: your free quote

In Val-des-Arbres, we come by to look at the furnace, the ducts, the return air and the spot planned for the outdoor unit. You then receive a free quote that states the selected capacity, the backup heat, the control and the applicable LogisVert grant. With its AIRSTAGE Elite Plus installer status and its HVAC expertise, AirGreen covers all of Laval as well as Montreal, Longueuil, the North Shore and the South Shore.

One call to 514 316-2973 is enough to plan the visit, before the furnace decides for you.