Same in Australia/East Asia generally. Had a mid range daiken 3kw unit installed upstairs last summer; $2500 AUD and ~5 man hours to install including roof access and exterior wall mounting. A bigger 7kw multi head unit would have been about $6-7k AUD but required awkward attic and wall access.

Installed prices in the US are pretty silly. Theres a bourgeoning set of DIY units that come precharged. But even those are pricey compared to the rest of the world.

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Tostino 20 hours ago | parent [-]

Just FYI, there's no reason at all to buy the DIY kits over just a regular mini split. The difference is DIY kits come with the lines pre-vacuumed and with seals on the end of them. So when you finally connect everything, the lines don't need a vacuum drawn on them prior to allowing the refrigerant into them.

A vacuum pump costs about $100. Just get a regular cheap mini split and vacuum the lines yourself, and save $1,000 or more.

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donavanm 17 hours ago | parent [-]

Yeah, vaguely aware that you could diy the entire setup with refrigerant etc. But its not relevant at local prices here in AU.

One of the interesting things I noticed here is that manufacturers are providing exchangers and head units that can reuse existing pipes. Makes sense for retrofit/upgrades where running pipes through utility spaces and bulkheads is a significant labor cost.

	▲	Tostino 10 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Well it does absolutely affect the price if you are willing to do it yourself. You don't need to actually touch any refrigerants. They are all preloaded in all the mini splits for sale. You just need to get the air out of the lines so it doesn't mix with the refrigerant. If I were to have it installed, just about any "professional" will totally overcharge here in the US too.