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Our 1923 home has central A/C installed previously and it's fantastic. We just got the A/C and furnace redone but the ductwork was left alone. If I was doing it all new now I'd certainly get a ductless system. We looked into it for the upstairs bedrooms and a three zone system ran about $10,000 installed.
But you should definitely look into them, the back end can be installed in the attic and only have a small ceiling grill visible in the upper levels and the lower levels can use a unit mounted high on the ceiling. Three of them can tie into one external compressor as well, so you're not going to be filling up the side yard with a lot of items. Some can even be used as heat pumps as well, which would give you a backup heating system.
I'd say $15K for a whole house is on the low end, think $20K+ to capture any contingencies.
I have an expanded cape. We couldnt put in central AC without chewing into already finished basement space for the air handler.
So, I opted for a ductless mini-split system. I put in a unit with 3 'heads' inside the house and an outdoor unit that generates both cold air (ac) and heat (heat pump). IIRC, cost was $10k-13k range. SUPER efficient (electric bill dropped from $250 to $150 month after I had it installed, and got rid of window units)
You might need a second outdoor unit, so $15-25k is a good range, with $20k-$25k a good, conservative estimate. Dont underestimate the value of not having ducts in terms of usable space inside the house
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