[mikester]

To be honest we don't need an AC system to get us to 68 degrees in the summer. We just need something to keep the house 'comfortable'. Which translates to lower humidity and around under 78 degrees. I would like less than 78 but that probably isn't very 'energy efficient'.

Seriously though - over the last few years we are pretty used to having a few weeks in July/August that are uncomfortable but this year it's been pretty much the entirety of July, August and so far most of September. If I'm going to have 1/4 of the year like this I'm going to have to do something about it. It's affecting the quality of my sleep as well as the rest of us which is making my wife and I both pretty damned irritable. The kids handle it better but I know it is shortening their fuses too.

The ductless systems are interesting but I really don't have the wall space for them to be honest and I don't really have the window space for window units. Our house isn't very big and we need all the space we can get. Unless there is something systemically wrong with our existing duct work I would like to leverage that.