what do they typically cost? we have a typical cape and the pstairs is alwasy too hot in summer and cold in winter.

We have an old home where the attic was added to and converted to living space. While there is ductwork and vents up there, the space was always cold in winter and hot and humid in summer. We added a split system several years ago and it works great - heats and cools the whole upstairs.

We have a three floor row house in DC and we went with a ductwork system for the top two floors because the ductwork could be run through the attic to cool the bedroom level and then just a few ducts went down to the main floor through closets to cool that floor. Then we went with mini splits in the basement level to avoid additional ductwork. It works great and the mini splits also do the heating in the basement level. I would think about the possibility of a doing hybrid system in your house so that you are using the best technology for each space.

FWIW, the mini splits are awesome. We have ours set up to be motion activated so they come on when someone goes down in the basement. We have two on the basement level and they will cool the whole floor in five minutes. But, I don't think they would be ideal for a large space. They are intended for fairly small rooms.

We installed mini-splits in the upstairs of our old Cape, because running additional duct work up there would have been near impossible due to the strange angles in the house. They are great for heating and cooling a space, but if you're talking about a whole house with no central air I would look seriously into having ducts installed instead.

We are buying an old house that has no central air, and no duct system. We are thinking of installing mini splits, instead of doing all the duct work. People who have these mini splits, are you happy with them? Pros and cons? Did you choose to have them over central air systems?