Cost of a Ductless Air Conditioner with Installation (how much, heating, insulated)
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I'm curious if anyone knows the cost to install a ductless air conditioner. It would be for a 750 sq ft space. I've seen them for around $1,000, but as I understand it, the installation is fairly involved. I was told that the unit requires professional installation, and then you need an electrician to come in and install a special outlet for it.
The person I spoke to, who currently has one in his home, bought his about 6 years ago when these units were fairly new to market, so his total cost of around $2,500-$3,000 (unit + installation + electrician) may no longer be relevant.
Does anyone have an idea of what the total cost might be for the unit, installation, and electrician? I'm hoping it can be done for under $1,500.
Some of that cost is going to be dictated by the going rates for installation in your area - we had a Mitsubishi ductless heat and A/C unit installed in our bedroom/sitting area/bathroom (maybe 500 sf total) and the cost was about $3500 (A/C only units are cheaper). But we also had extra insulation blown in at the same time.
Get a unit with an actual thermostat, too, not just a remote control. We ended up buying and installing the thermostat ourselves after the fact. The remote worked well for A/C, but really wasn't satisfactory for heat. Although we had some record cold temps this last winter (down to 0) and the heat worked surprisingly well for a unit that doesn't have secondary resistive heat.
Depending on what you use for heat, there is also a Federal/State rebate available, make sure you get the right paperwork from the dealer.
Some of that cost is going to be dictated by the going rates for installation in your area - we had a Mitsubishi ductless heat and A/C unit installed in our bedroom/sitting area/bathroom (maybe 500 sf total) and the cost was about $3500 (A/C only units are cheaper). But we also had extra insulation blown in at the same time.
Get a unit with an actual thermostat, too, not just a remote control. We ended up buying and installing the thermostat ourselves after the fact. The remote worked well for A/C, but really wasn't satisfactory for heat. Although we had some record cold temps this last winter (down to 0) and the heat worked surprisingly well for a unit that doesn't have secondary resistive heat.
Depending on what you use for heat, there is also a Federal/State rebate available, make sure you get the right paperwork from the dealer.
Thanks for the info. I'm on Long Island, so I imagine you wouldn't know the going installation rates for my area. However, would you have a ballpark figure of what it might have cost you if your unit was strictly A/C, and without the added insulation?
They list the unit we have (18,000 btu, 26SEER) as $3k, pretty sure we paid a bit less than that, given all our costs. The installation will be the same, I think, on an A/C only unit as an A/C/heat unit.
The installation required a 20amp 240 volt service and an exterior electrical outlet within 25 feet (don't ask me, the county said on the permit that it is current county code to have an outlet for servicing exterior heat/cool units). The heat pump box was mounted on the side of the house above the snow line, insulated fluid (refrigerant) cables run up two and a half stories to the attic, across the attic and into the back of the head unit on the wall. So they were up in the attic anyway.
My impression, looking at the bill, is that the install portion was just under a grand. That included two "service visits" as well, at 6 months and a year, to check on the system, clean the 4 filters, etc. The electrician was from the same company that put in our 4.8kW solar panels, so I think we got a deal from them.
The Fed and state rebates came to about $400, based on the size we were heating vs the size of the house, with the state chunk being the larger.
Last edited by PNW-type-gal; 05-23-2013 at 04:44 PM..
A friend in florida installed either 1800 or 24000- I forgot which. She had never heard of a mini split until I told her about them. She got a Fujitsu with the heat strip.
They are not made for cold climates-didn't you say you were in New England? They are NOT for heat....really just for air conditioning.
Anyway, she paid $1,200 for the unit, and the guy installed it for no charge. (She is a beautiful, engaging person who can get anyone to do anything).
They are efficiant, cost less per month, and have been used in ME, Europe ,Japan for 30 years. Why the US is so far behind is beyond me....
A friend in florida installed either 1800 or 24000- I forgot which. She had never heard of a mini split until I told her about them. She got a Fujitsu with the heat strip.
They are not made for cold climates-didn't you say you were in New England? They are NOT for heat....really just for air conditioning.
Anyway, she paid $1,200 for the unit, and the guy installed it for no charge. (She is a beautiful, engaging person who can get anyone to do anything).
They are efficiant, cost less per month, and have been used in ME, Europe ,Japan for 30 years. Why the US is so far behind is beyond me....
That is incorrect mini splits come in heat pump form and in fact are really efficient at it. They can produce heat down to 15* and sometimes lower without any additional source.
Does anyone know the best place to shop for one of these units?
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