GENERAL AIRSTAGE CENTAURI R32 Ducted Heat Pump | 24000 BTU

GENERAL AIRSTAGE CENTAURI 24,000 BTU Ducted Heat Pump (ARUH24KUAS): three upstairs bedrooms, one hidden unit

On the upper floor of a cottage, the GENERAL AIRSTAGE CENTAURI 24,000 BTU ducted heat pump does the work of three wall units without a single one in sight. The system pairs the ARUH24KUAS indoor unit with the AOUH24KUAS1 outdoor unit. These are the units of the Fujitsu AIRSTAGE twin, built in the same factories and designed by the same company, which has gone by the name GENERAL Inc. since January 1, 2026. On the paperwork side, nothing moves: the manufacturer’s spec sheet and warranty remain those of the Fujitsu version.

A cottage’s upper floor, in July, holds the day’s heat long after sunset. In January, it is often the bedroom over the garage that stays cold. The usual answer, one wall head per bedroom, takes up three walls and multiplies the units to maintain. Here, a single ducted unit hides in a hallway closet or soffit, and ducts run to each of the three bedrooms.

The technical detail that makes this work is automatic static pressure detection. Three branches of different lengths do not offer the same resistance to airflow. The unit reads the resistance of the real duct network and sets its fan accordingly, instead of applying a factory setting designed for a theoretical network.

GENERAL or Fujitsu AIRSTAGE: the same machine

The GENERAL name does not come out of nowhere: the company has used it as a brand since 1946, and in 2026 it marks 90 years since its founding in 1936. What changed is the corporate name. After Fujitsu General Limited was bought in August 2025 by Paloma Rheem Holdings (Rheem’s owner since 1988), the company became GENERAL Inc. on January 1, 2026, with the same head office and the same R&D centre in Kawasaki, the same factories, the same model numbers and the same warranty program.

While the Fujitsu brand is gradually phased out, the same machine circulates under both names. We therefore keep both pages, so that nobody has to guess whether two quotes refer to the same unit. Rheem Canada has sold the line in Canada since February 2026, Groupe Master is still our distributor, and AirGreen, an AIRSTAGE Elite Plus installer, puts it in.

The same values appear on the Fujitsu page: Fujitsu AIRSTAGE CENTAURI 24,000 BTU ducted unit.

Upstairs, no basement is waiting for the unit; it needs a place of its own. Three locations work well: a hallway closet converted into a mechanical closet, a soffit above the hallway, or a section of dropped ceiling. The ARUH24KUAS is 11.81 in. high, 39.38 in. wide and 27.56 in. deep. Return air connects from the side or from below, which gives some leeway in a narrow closet, and a door or access hatch remains a must for the filter.

Static pressure deserves a closer look, because it decides whether the far bedroom gets its share. Every duct, every elbow and every grille slows the air down. The CENTAURI unit handles a resistance of 0.12 to 0.80 in. WC, and it detects it on its own at commissioning to set its airflow, which can reach 800 CFM. The network as it was actually built therefore gets the air it was designed for. We add balancing dampers on the branches, so that the bedroom over the garage is not left behind.

In bedrooms, quiet is not negotiable. The “Quiet” speed brings the unit down to 24 dB(A), and it tops out at 36 dB(A) at maximum speed. The fan offers 4 speeds plus Auto, the sleep function takes over at night, and the unit itself stays behind a closet door, not above a bed.

Outside, the AOUH24KUAS1 unit is rated at 54.0 dB(A), and its heat exchanger gets a “Blue Fin” anti-corrosion coating. With the indoor unit upstairs and the outdoor unit on the ground, height difference matters: the spec sheet accepts a difference in height of up to 98 ft (30 m). Sized at 1/4 in. and 1/2 in., the refrigerant line can reach 164 ft (50 m), with a required minimum of 16 ft (5 m), and its precharge covers 66 ft (20 m); it runs down the exterior wall, with the cable and the drain, to the unit’s pad.

For winter, the certified documentation and the manufacturer’s own come down to four points:

• heating down to −21 °C outdoors; below that threshold, the unit does not shut off (“no low temperature cut out”, according to the manufacturer), though no capacity has been tested there;
• 17,800 BTU of heating at −8 °C, for a COP of 2.91;
• 23,600 BTU at −15 °C according to NEEP, for a COP of 2.04, measured at a separate test point;
• ENERGY STAR with the cold climate designation (ID 3627243), SEER2 of 18.5, HSPF2 of 10.2, AHRI certificate 215434558.

One frank clarification: a single unit means a single temperature setpoint. All three bedrooms receive the same air, and balancing sets how the airflow is split, not the temperature of each room. If everyone insists on their own setting, the system is compatible with Airzone communicating zoning, an optional third-party product we can assess with you.

Upstairs, condensate water does not always have a drain nearby. The built-in condensate pump lifts it to the nearest plumbing, often the bathroom’s. A refrigerant leak sensor, also built in, keeps an eye on the R-32 circuit a few steps from the bedrooms.

No control comes with the system: the controller is sold separately. In the upstairs hallway, a wired touchscreen controller, UTY-RNRUZ5 or KAGAMI UTY-RVRU, naturally finds its place. With the UTY-TFSXJ4 Wi-Fi adapter and the AIRSTAGE Mobile app, you cool the floor down before heading up to bed, and the weekly timer follows the family’s schedule. For the simplest needs, a UTY-LBTUM wireless remote works with the IR receiver kit.

For maintenance, you reach the filter through the closet door or the hatch, and you clean it at the intervals the manufacturer recommends; the ProCore copper coils offer high resistance to corrosion. The electrical circuit: 208/230 V, 12 A minimum circuit ampacity (MCA) and 20 A maximum overcurrent protection (MOP).

The ARUH24KUAS and AOUH24KUAS1 combination is listed under LogisVert at $2,136, according to Hydro-Québec’s list of October 27, 2026; eligibility is checked with you before the work. Dehumidification reaches 5.1 pints/h, which helps the bedrooms stay dry in summer, and, on the warranty side, the spec sheet provides 12 years for the compressor, as many for parts, and 6 years for labour.

This system is for the cottage owner who wants to heat and cool three bedrooms without a single head on the wall. It serves the upper floor, and only the upper floor: the ground floor keeps its current system or gets its own solution. During the visit, a load calculation confirms whether this capacity suits your upper floor.

Cottage in Saint-François: have AirGreen assess your upper floor

In Saint-François, as everywhere in Laval, the visit starts upstairs: the closet or soffit that will house the unit, the duct path to the three bedrooms, the route of the refrigerant line down the wall and the spot for the outdoor unit. The quote is free, and our HVAC team explains every choice before you sign.

Phone AirGreen at 514 316-2973. Our crews cover Montreal, Laval, Longueuil, the North Shore and the South Shore.