There’s a thread on the Heating and AC forum that’s been running for two years debating the issue of high installation costs. It’s a great read; the link is below. Mini splits have been used throughout the world for decades, but are new in this country and there’s very little competition to bring installation costs down. Most homeowners and many contractors have never heard of them. With increased efficiencies and units that can now heat a space when the outside temperature is as low as -15 degrees, they’re starting to become better known and more available in the northeast and Canada as an alternative to oil heat in locations where natural gas is not available. (This is not a sales pitch, lol; I've become obsessed with the subject.) This year, for the first time, I’ve seen a few local HVAC companies running ads for mini-splits (I live near Albany, NY). Installation of the wall unit is probably easier than the ceiling cassette or ducted style, which is one reason I’ll likely go with a pro. To the OP (sorry to hijack your thread), please let us know what you decide to do. @bstruss -- From what I've read, the Friedrich mini is manufactured by one of the big Japanese companies. Though Mitsubishi, Fujitsu and Daiken are the top tier leaders in the field, there are many lesser known units for much less $. Some of them get great reviews. But I haven't seen any other specifically marketed to DIY homeowners. Let us know what you find out about the Friedrich. Here is a link that might be useful: Why is split ductless so expensive when installed

First, its likely the unit proposed is 12,000 BTU heat and cool, not 1200 so its significantly larger capacity than your previous window unit. Most mini-splits are much more efficient than your window unit so energy savings will be in order, not to mention its a heat pump replacing strip heaters. 12k may be too large, 9000 units are available and cheaper. Also efficiency up to a SEER of 19 and they are VERY quiet. I would stick with a major brand unit, not a chinese import with no parts support. LG, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, Panasonic and Sanyo. Unfortunatly the american brands have not really entered this market yet, they are much more popular overseas.

There was an episode of Ask This Old House a week or so ago where they installed a minisplit for a customer. It was a single-car garage that the customer wanted to use as a home office (it was insulated). I thought the installation was pretty simple: 1. Locate and put a mounting bracket on the inside wall for the inside unit using a couple of screws. 2. drill/cut a 3" hole through the wall and place a sleeve (supplied) inside. 3. Set the inside unit up on the wall. 4. Locate and place the outside unit on a pad (purchased) outside. 5. install the bottom half of a plastic channel (purchased) to hold the wiring and lineset to the side of the house. 6. run and connect the 4-wire electrical line between the two units (purchased). 7. run the power line from the outside unit to the main power panel. 8. run the lineset from the outside unit to the inside unit. Surround the lineset with (purchased) insulation. Snap the top part of the plastic channel in place over the lineset and wiring. 9. Connect the lineset at both ends using the proper flare fittings (supplied). connect a vacuum pump to the service port on the outside unit, pump down and check for / repair any leaks. (You'd need a pro to do this.) Connect the main power line. open the inlet/outlet valves for the refridgerant on the outside unit. (refridgerant is already supplied with the unit.) Turn it on and cool down. Enjoy a frosty beverage of choice. This looks a bit more complicated than it is. But if you're a DIY person, you can do a lot of it yourself. Then an AC guy can come and take care of the lineset and powerpanel stuff.

Thanks for your help, zL700; I like your link for SlimDuct enclosure, much better than my idea for 3"-4" pvc pipe! I plead guilty to a LOT of sharing! Once one reads all the way to the end, my question in the first line was 'history' : "Can anyone support my argument that it is ample to use a dual split unit for just the front two bedroom's? " This would save both cost and a difficult condenser install location. In short: We have a MrSlim MSZ-A17NA single-split 17 Kbtu unit for the 3rd floor finished attic, and a conventional 28 Kbtu ducted unit on the first floor. Our calculated 50 degree day heat loss for the entire house is 48 Kbtu, of which the two rear small bedrooms are only 5 Kbtu each. I have agreed to put in a dual-split 9+9 or 12+12 for the two 2nd floor front bedrooms. Shouldn't this effectively cool the entire 2nd floor? I need technical, experienced opinion to support my desire to avoid having to put in a 3rd condenser in the larger of the two rear bedrooms. Thanks to All - - Old Salt Details were dated SEP 3, 2307 hours.