LOL Wolfie!!!!!

When you have 90+ degree temps with humidity 60%+ for 6 months out of the year, you too would get central heat and air, lol.
By waiting until “night” to run the AC, it would have to run all night just to get it to sleep able temps, lol. By 10-11 the next morning, the temps would be up to 80-85 inside again. Right now as I’m typing at 1810 it’s 95 degrees outside and 72 in my house. Ain’t no way you Yankees can deal with that heat, lol.

Central heat and air is minimum 15k. Absolute minimum. Having to retrofit a house will cost more. Just the materials for my 1250 sf house 3 bed 2 bath will be 3500 for the ducting ,boots , and registers. I'm doing heat only so 3500 for a cheapo unit. Add a coil and condenser for another 3500. That's 10,500 just for the materials. Plus I'll have to pay to have the unit pressure tested, charged, blower test, and of course permits. Mini splits will be 40% more expensive than central.

California valley gets 105-110 on the regular. 7-12 days of 105-115 is not uncommon. Add a monsoon and it is absolutely miserable. Us Yankees are tougher than you think.

My rent house central air has gone out I was told $4200 to replace. I replaced it 12 years ago it had a 10 year warranty and in that 10 years everything on it had been replaced some twice. It has a heat pump also. Basically it's junk and I was told all are about the same now but I don't know.
. At the farm I have window units. Big one down stairs 3 smaller ones in the kids rooms and they set them how they want it. Daughter likes it warmer and that good with all her reptiles. Boys both have different preferences. Is it effective? The house I'd old and leaky 2x or more bigger than my old house that now a rental and my electric bill is maybe $100 more a month with window units thatn the new Central air there. But it's been 7 years since we lived there and electric rates have gone up so it's probably not even 100 dollars more.

It was much cheaper to buy a window units and easy to install. Also it's probably more effective to cool single roome when in use than the big old leaky house.

I am wanting to look into the mini splits for future building I need to build

Nope, the room (approx. 9x12') cools down within 15 minutes and the compressor barely runs after that all night. I use a few fans on the hottest days in the rest of the house and keep the Sun facing window curtains closed.

Ever work at a blast furnace? Some of us can handle the heat very well.

This thread reminds me of when I went and worked in Australia once. It was December and the very beginning of summer there. We were right on the coast so humidity was a bear. Very beginning of summer and day time highs were always in the 90s and sometimes triple digits.
What I found intrest is how little air conditioners are used there. Of the dozen or so guys that we got to know that lived their only one had AC in his house. And he was the plant boss I'm sure making in the 6 figures. And these guys were all making good money living in nice $200,000 plus homes. Heck you had to special order AC if you wanted it in a new car you were buying one down there. Only 2 guys had cars with AC , one was the Boss and the other was an older guy. Him and his wife can 3 cars and decided when they bought the third they would spurlge and buy one with AC.
We ask them why in the world didn't they have AC in their homes. Their response was they didnt need them. We proceeded to tell them they most certainly did.. lol
I guess it's really just a matter of what your use too. Us guys from Kansas were sweating like we were back in high school stacking hay in the hay loft in August.
Central air for me.

Central units mostly range between $7000.00 to $12,000 around here. Bigger houses often use two units.

We just run 3 window air conditioners in hot weather. I didn't want to pay $8000.00 to replace our central unit. We haven't run air conditioning this year. Usually we only use if from mid June to mid September.

Keith

Working in heat is one thing, but I ain’t coming home and living in it, lol. I guess I could save on water too, wouldn’t be a need to shower in that kind of heat and humidity. Y’all enjoy sweating at night, I’ll be comfortable with my blanket in the Summer.
Oh yeah, 2100 (9pm) and it’s a balmy 86 outside. No thanks!!

That price for both the outdoor and the indoor air handler?

I just had central air but in my house. I looked at mini splits too. We were cooling with window units. I went with central air because it ended up being much cheaper. I already had duct work because I have forced air gas furnace. I would have needed 2 mini splits at $4k each or central air and a new high efficiency furnace for $6500. The AC has a 10 year guarantee. I think it was the best choice I could have made. For the rooms we dont want as cool, we shut off the floor regulator. Plus now the window units are gone and I can see out those windows.

38* right here right now, forecasting it might get close to 70 today...I like it

My last central air unit I bout also had a 10 year warranty it was needed several times. Coil and compressor were replaced on 2times. Now at about 13 years it's out of warranty and the compressor is out again and it's expensive enough may as well replace it. Amana I believe is the brand? But I herd all have poor quality these days and brand dose not matter.

Mini splits are great. I got a precharged unit and was able to install it myself in just a few hours. It cools our 1200 square foot living area/kitchen as cold as you could want it in no time. Don’t really know how much it costs to run it but whatever it is it’s worth it.

Central air on all the time, doesn't have to be set very cool because it gets rid of the humidity in the house and feels cool. Thermostat on auto for heat and cool, house is the same temp year-round. 74 with no humidity feels cool.

I think you can get addicted to AC. I've noticed that the several times I've been in SE Asia, I am actually more comfortable that when I get acclimated to the heat, it is more comfortable to just have ceiling fans going.

As someone who lived 24 years in NY without any AC and 10 in MS with central air....

You have NO IDEA what you're talking about.

Went to NY in July a few years back and spent a week listening to everyone complain about how they couldn't survive this heat while I was thinking that I hadn't been since cool since March.

air conditioner

Something like this might work

Put in a new central and propane furnace 9300 bucks