I like my mini splits. Look at the manufacturer's web sites, Daikin, Sanyo, Tosiba, Mitsubishi,.... On one extreme, if your duct system is inside the building envelope and works well, you will save a lot of money keeping it. On the other extreme, if you have leaky ducts outside of the building envelope, you might consider a radial change. I have posted some comments about my 7-room mini-split installation recently. Look those posts over. There is one on under "Central HVAC alternatives needed" Minisplits will cost more.

Option 1 has two advantages. If one go's down you still have the other working while waiting for service,parts and other delays. Assuming equal quality of zoneing and controlling,more comfort and more eccononical operation in extreme weather. Hey,that's actually three votes for option 1.

Thanks all, it did seem pretty outrageous to us too but had no baseline to go from so weren’t sure. We are in central CT, so not a low COL but not so high that this doesn’t make us blink. We are definitely getting other estimates. We have been using a portable unit from our old house to keep us cool, it just seems to defeat the purpose of having a central system. We moved in in the winter and the heat seemed to be adequate up there (and it is), the cooling power just isnt there on hot summer nights. The reason the cost of improving or changing the duct work is so high is because a lot of it is asbestos wrapped - so the high environmental/hazardous material disposal fees factor in and drive up the cost. The bedroom is at the end of the run on the opposite side of the house on the second floor, so the recurring theme has been that it’s probably not worth it. We did think about possibly DIY with the Mitsubishi but figured we would get some prices and go from there, thinking that if we had a pro install we had some kind of protection/warranty in case something failed. We do have someone else coming out and deoending on their estimate, will probably reconsider DIY or just deal with the window or portable unit for awhile longer - or forever. Thanks again for the feedback.

Thanks for posting your paint color. I love it and was wondering what it was. I'll keep in mind BM Quiet Moments for our own bedroom. In terms of how the unit looks it doesn't bother me at all. The ceiling is already odd in that style room and the unit is the same color as alot of your other items in the room so it all sort of goes together. Glad you got to use it for heat. They do a great job at that and a great job of cooling. I see so many of my neighbors on nextdoor complaining that this room in their house either doesn't get enough heat in the winter or doesn't get enough cooling in the summer. You will never have that problem with a ductless mini-split. The room will always be exactly what you want it to be with no fuss. You'll get spoiled by the comfort and look at the unit with fondness.