GENERAL AIRSTAGE CENTAURI R32 Ducted Heat Pump | 30000 BTU

GENERAL AIRSTAGE CENTAURI ARUH30KUAS 30,000 BTU: the cold-climate ducted Heat Pump that replaces a single-storey home’s old central air

The GENERAL AIRSTAGE CENTAURI 30,000 BTU ducted heat pump brings together the ARUH30KUAS indoor unit and the AOUH30KUAS1 outdoor unit. If you have seen these two numbers on a Fujitsu AIRSTAGE page, you have seen the same machine. Fujitsu General Limited simply took the name GENERAL Inc. on January 1, 2026; the spec sheet from the manufacturer and the warranty have not moved.

The scenario is a classic in a single-storey house: a central air conditioner installed long ago, which cools in summer and does nothing from November to April. The day it gives out, or gets too old to be worth repairing, the decision makes itself. Replacing an air conditioner with another air conditioner means paying for a single season.

The CENTAURI covers both seasons: it is a cold-climate heat pump, ENERGY STAR certified with the cold climate designation, that heats in winter and cools in summer. Its static pressure can reach 0.80 in. WC, enough to feed a duct network that runs from one end of the house to the other. And the manufacturer states that it has no low temperature cut out.

GENERAL or Fujitsu AIRSTAGE: the same machine

Technically, nothing separates the two labels. Paloma Rheem Holdings, the entity that has owned Rheem since 1988, took over Fujitsu General Limited in August 2025, and the company has operated as GENERAL Inc. since January 1, 2026. The Kawasaki head office, in Japan, and its R&D centre stayed in place, as did the factories and the warranty program, and every AIRSTAGE model number is unchanged, ARUH30KUAS and AOUH30KUAS1 included.

As long as the Fujitsu name still appears on some of the boxes, the same machine comes under two labels, and we publish both versions of the page. The table that follows puts them face to face. On the supply side, Rheem Canada has handled Canadian sales since February 2026 and Groupe Master remains our distributor; AirGreen, for its part, is an AIRSTAGE Elite Plus installer.

To compare for yourself, here is the Fujitsu version, with identical values: Fujitsu AIRSTAGE CENTAURI 30,000 BTU ducted unit.

In a replacement, the old coil and the old air handler come out, and the ARUH30KUAS ducted unit takes their place on the network. It has its own fan and its ProCore copper coils, and its Inverter compressor, in the outdoor unit, modulates its output instead of starting and stopping at full load. The unit is 11.81 in. high; it goes in the basement, in a mechanical closet or in a dropped ceiling, often in the very spot of the old equipment.

The real question is the existing duct network. It was designed for another unit, and we inspect it before telling you whether it can be used:

• the size of the main ducts and branches, compared with the unit’s airflow, which reaches 1,001 CFM;
• the condition of the joints and any air leaks, especially at the connections;
• the insulation of ducts that cross a crawl space, a garage or an attic, where warm air loses its heat in winter;
• the size and location of the return air, which must match the new unit’s airflow;
• the condition and position of the grilles, room by room.

If the network holds up, automatic static pressure detection does the rest: the unit gauges the resistance of the ducts, from 0.12 to 0.80 in. WC, and sets its airflow to deliver air all the way to the bedrooms at the far end of the house. If a section has to be redone, the quote will say so clearly, with the proposed layout.

The refrigerant line calls for the same frankness. This system runs on R-32 with a 3/8 in. and 5/8 in. line; we check the old line, and we only reuse it if its diameter and condition allow. The manufacturer allows up to 164 ft (50 m) of line, at least 16 ft (5 m), a maximum height difference of 98 ft (30 m), and the factory charge is enough up to 66 ft (20 m). The outdoor unit can often take over the old condenser’s spot, if the pad is sound and the clearances are sufficient; its sound rating is 55.0 dB(A).

The electrical side gets checked too. The unit requires 208/230 V, a circuit of at least 20 A minimum ampacity and protection of no more than 25 A; the old air conditioner’s circuit does not necessarily match, and your electrician must confirm it.

In winter, here is what you can expect, backed by the manufacturer’s and the certifications’ figures:

• “no low temperature cut out”: that is the manufacturer’s wording, and it means the heat pump does not switch off when the thermometer drops below −21 °C, the limit of its heating range; what it produces in that kind of cold, however, has not been tested;
• at −8 °C, 21,200 BTU of heating and a COP of 2.81;
• the NEEP value at −15 °C: 28,000 BTU and a COP of 2.04, from another test point and to be read separately;
• SEER2 of 18.5, HSPF2 of 10.0, EER2 of 11.0, AHRI certificate 215434559 and ENERGY STAR ID 3627241.

For extreme nights, we plan backup heat with you. If the house keeps baseboards or another heating appliance, the system’s external inputs/outputs and its various backup heating logics let you integrate it cleanly. If the old air conditioner shared the network with a furnace, we work out the scenario with you during the visit.

Indoor sound ranges from 30 dB(A) to 39 dB(A), and the unit, set in the basement or a closet, is mostly heard through the air at the grilles. No control is included; they are sold separately. The 24 V thermostat interface lets you keep a wall thermostat in the same spot as the old one, or else a UTY-RNRUZ5 or a KAGAMI UTY-RVRU, two wired touchscreen controllers, replaces it. The UTY-TFSXJ4 Wi-Fi adapter adds the AIRSTAGE Mobile app, and the weekly timer handles schedules.

In summer, dehumidification climbs to 6.3 pints/h. For maintenance, an access hatch opens onto the filter, to be cleaned as the manufacturer prescribes, and a built-in sensor detects any refrigerant leak. The built-in condensate pump removes the water even when the old drain is no longer in the right place.

On the grant side, LogisVert lists the ARUH30KUAS and AOUH30KUAS1 combination at $2,544 (Hydro-Québec list of October 27, 2026); we check your eligibility before the work. Listed warranty: compressor and parts 12 years, labour 6 years.

This system is aimed at the owner of a single-storey home who already has ducts and wants, with a single unit, air conditioning and real winter heating. It is less suited if the network has to be rebuilt entirely, or if the load calculation performed on site points to another capacity; in both cases, we will tell you before selling you anything.

Beloeil and the whole South Shore: replace your central air with AirGreen

In Beloeil, we start by inspecting the duct network, the old refrigerant line and the electrical circuit, then we give you a free quote that separates what gets reused from what gets replaced. Our HVAC team removes the old system, installs the heat pump and handles commissioning with a refrigeration technician.

One call to 514 316-2973 is enough to get the project started. We work in Montreal, Laval, Longueuil, the North Shore and the South Shore.