Put the Rattling, Dripping Window Unit Out to Pasture
Updated September 2026
A window unit sits in the room with you. The compressor kicks on a few feet from your pillow, the housing buzzes against the sash, and the condensate finds its way down the siding or onto the sill until there is a stain nobody can scrub out. Come July in Killeen or Temple, it runs nearly nonstop and you still sleep with the TV loud enough to cover it.
A ductless mini split moves the noisy part outdoors. The indoor head is a quiet blower on the wall, the compressor sits outside on a pad or bracket, and the condensate drains through a line instead of dripping down your house. Old West Minisplits installs them at a posted flat price: 1 zone $2,000, 2 zones $3,700, 3 zones $5,400. Four or more zones get quoted individually, and the price you see is the price on the invoice.
Why the Window Unit Is Loud and the Mini Split Is Not
In a window unit, everything lives in one box: compressor, condenser fan, evaporator, and blower, all of it hanging in your window frame with a thin sheet of metal between the racket and your bedroom. Every start and stop is a mechanical thump you feel in the wall. Older units also cycle hard, slamming on at full power and shutting off, which is the part that wakes people at two in the morning.
A mini split splits that assembly in half, which is where the name comes from. The compressor and condenser go outside, connected to the indoor head by a small insulated line set. The indoor unit is mostly a fan and a coil, and most systems run at variable speed, easing up instead of hammering on and off once the room hits temperature.
The Dripping, the Draft, and the Blocked Window
Window units shed water by design. Some sling it onto the condenser coil, some let it run out the back, and either way it lands on your siding, your sill, or the flowerbed under the window. A mini split collects condensate in a pan inside the indoor head and sends it out through a drain line in the same wall penetration as the refrigerant lines, so it exits where you put it instead of where gravity chooses.
Then there is the rest of the year. A window unit leaves a hole in your wall all winter, sealed with foam panels and tape that never quite hold, and it takes a whole window hostage for light, egress, and security. Once the mini split is in, the head hangs high on the wall and the window is yours again. Patching or trimming out the old window opening is carpentry, so plan on arranging that separately with a handyman or carpenter.
Heat Pump Means You Can Also Retire the Space Heater
Every mini split we install is a heat pump. It runs the refrigerant cycle in reverse in cold weather and pulls heat into the room, which covers Central Texas winters in Belton, Salado, and Waco without a furnace and without a wall of space heaters on extension cords. That is the second half of the trade you are making when the window unit goes away.
Electrical is part of the deal. A window unit plugs into a 120 volt outlet that is often already sharing a bedroom circuit. A mini split gets its own properly sized circuit, and standard electrical is included in the flat price. If your panel was already full or already needed replacing before we showed up, that panel work is a licensed electrician's job on a separate ticket, and we will tell you before we start, not after.
How we compare
| Factor | Old West Minisplits mini split | Window units |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront Cost | Flat and posted: $2,000 for 1 zone, $3,700 for 2 zones, $5,400 for 3 zones, equipment and labor included. Four or more zones quoted individually. | Cheap per box at the store, but you buy several and replace them every few years. Ductless installs from other Central Texas contractors commonly run $3,000 to $6,000 per zone on a custom quote. |
| Noise in the room | Compressor sits outside. The indoor head is a variable speed blower on the wall. | Compressor, condenser fan, and blower all rattling in the window frame beside your bed. |
| Condensate | Drains through a dedicated line routed out the same wall penetration as the line set. | Drips down siding, sills, and whatever is planted underneath. |
| Winter | Heat pump reverses and heats the same rooms. No furnace needed for a mild Central Texas winter. | Cooling only. Comes out or gets taped over, and space heaters take the shift. |
Straight answers
If I have window units in three bedrooms, what does the flat price cover?
Three indoor heads is a 3 zone system at $5,400 flat. That covers equipment, labor, line set, standard electrical, refrigerant, testing, cleanup, and a Home Depot run for touch-up paint. No trip fees and no upcharges on top.
Do these prices apply if my current mini split or window unit just needs fixing?
No. The $2,000, $3,700, and $5,400 prices are for new installs only. They are not repair pricing and they are not service call pricing, so if you are looking to have an existing unit diagnosed or recharged, this is not that offer.
What could change my price?
Three things, and we say them up front rather than burying them. An unusually long line set, a panel upgrade the house already needed before we arrived, or a mounting situation that is genuinely difficult, such as a wall or roofline that makes placement hard. Anything else is covered by the flat price.
Are there rebates for swapping window units for a heat pump?
There can be, and they change. Verify current utility rebate amounts with your electric provider and any federal tax credit details with the IRS or your tax preparer, since we do not quote those numbers. Our installations are performed by licensed contractors, and you can start with the quote form at /#quote.
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