Central Texas

Mounting height is half of comfort, not a finish detail

A ductless head that sits too low, too high, or aimed at a bed will move air and still leave the room feeling wrong. Air has a path. Block it with a cabinet, a curtain, or a corner, and the sensor on the unit starts lying about the rest of the space.

The price is posted up front, no standoffs. A new 1 zone install is $2,000, 2 zones is $3,700, and 3 zones is $5,400, with four or more zones quoted one job at a time. Equipment, labor, line set, standard electrical, refrigerant, testing, cleanup, and a Home Depot run for touch-up paint sit inside that number, with no trip fees. These figures are for new installs only, and the next step is the quote form at /#quote.

$2,000One zone
$3,700Two zones
$5,400Three zones
Installs performed by licensed contractorsMost jobs done in a dayNo trip fees or add-ons

Height decides whether cool air reaches the floor

Cool air falls and warm air rises. A wall head set near the top of a normal ceiling drops the cooled stream into the living zone and draws the hot layer back into the unit. That loop is how a ductless heat pump keeps a Killeen or Temple room even through a brutal summer.

Set the same head too low and it washes furniture and ankles while the ceiling stays hot. Set it up in a tall vault and the sensor can satisfy itself on air nobody breathes. Licensed contractors read the ceiling height, the furniture line, and the throw before they mark the wall.

A clear throw beats a hidden corner

Air needs runway. The discharge should look down the long dimension of the room, not into the side wall that sits right next to it. Corners, tall cabinets, drapes, and a door that opens across the face all shorten the mix and create a cold pocket next to a warm one.

Aiming at a bed, a desk, or the main chair creates a draft that feels colder than the setpoint. People then bump the temperature around and decide the system is undersized. Move the head a few feet along the same wall and the identical equipment suddenly feels like it was sized right.

Central Texas heat, mild winters, honest exceptions

Mini splits are heat pumps. They cool through brutal Central Texas summers and they handle mild winters without a furnace, so a high wall mount matches how this climate actually runs. Heating from high on the wall is a weaker story in a true cold climate. Here the summer mix matters more.

The posted prices are for new installs only. Unusually difficult mounting, a very long line set, or a panel upgrade the house already needed can change the number, and those exceptions get said up front. Standard electrical is included. A panel swap or any extra trade work is something a licensed electrician or other contractor handles separately, not a buried Old West Minisplits upcharge.

Side by side

How we compare

FactorOld West MinisplitsThe usual contractor
Upfront CostNew installs only: 1 zone $2,000, 2 zones $3,700, 3 zones $5,400, posted before the drill comes outDuctless work in Central Texas commonly runs $3,000-$6,000 per zone on a custom quote after an in-home visit
When the head location is lockedHeight and throw planned against the actual room, with the posted price holding unless mounting is unusually difficultOften picked on install day to dodge furniture, find a stud, or hide the chassis
Air path in the roomLong-axis throw, clear of beds, desks, drapes, and corners so the sensor reads the space people useConvenience mounts over doors and in corners that dump air into a wall
What shows up on the invoiceEquipment, labor, line set, standard electrical, refrigerant, testing, cleanup, and touch-up paint. No trip fees.Line items after the visit, plus whatever the chosen wall turned out to require
Questions

Straight answers

Does a high or tricky mount still land at $2,000 for one zone?

Standard height on a normal wall stays inside the posted new-install prices of $2,000, $3,700, and $5,400 for 1, 2, and 3 zones. Unusually difficult mounting is an honest exception, stated up front along with a very long line set or a panel upgrade the house already needed. Four or more zones are quoted individually. Describe the walls on the quote form at /#quote.

How high should the indoor head sit in a typical Central Texas room?

On a standard ceiling the head belongs high on the wall so cooled air can fall into the occupied zone. It should not sit down at sofa height, and it should not hide in the peak of a vault where the sensor reads a different climate than the floor. Clear space around the chassis matters so the unit can pull return air. Licensed contractors mark that line from the room you live in, not from a catalog photo.

Can you hide the head in a corner or over the bed?

A corner kills throw. Over a bed aims a draft at sleep. Both make a correctly sized heat pump feel harsh or weak. A few feet of shift along a long wall usually beats a camouflage mount. If the only free wall is a hard one, that can fall under unusually difficult mounting and gets said before work starts.

My existing head is in a bad spot. Do these prices cover moving it?

No. The flat prices are for new installs only, never repairs, relocations, or service calls. A new zone in another room is a new install at the posted figures. Moving an existing head is not that job. Send a new-install layout through the quote form at /#quote.

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