You can shop around, but that's pretty average for cost for splits all around. I wouldn't trust a non HVAC person with it. I'm sure you could find someone who will do it for you for cheaper, but you'll have to buy the units and then you get what you pay for. Might as well have it done right and warrantied at the same time by a professional.

Unless said "handyman" has being doing that exact work for years and is a Subject Matter Expert, maintains a license for that sort of work, and has a small army of knowledgeable workers to help with the installation, what you're going to end up with is an interminable project that tears up your house and might come in slightly cheaper than just hiring a company like Harp in the first place.

Also, the building department for your town/city is going to want to inspect the completed work. Think about that.

I used Eversources financing option and got a loan for less than 1% interest for an energy efficient upgrade. Go to energizect.com and look at what they offer. You can save a lot using that route. I found many contractors there also and got mine installed for 10k last year. 4 headers (3 x 9000 btu and 1x 12000 btu) and 1 condenser at 45000 btus. That's parts and labor. Includes 2 years of annual service as well.

Don’t call Home Depot. They quoted me 25k.

I would not trust non HVAC with a mini split. They are finicky enough as it is.

There are DIYs. And it's not overly complex, if you are good with tools.

If you are not, it's your house. You will end up saving about 10 grand, given your quote. But it is your house. You should consider the future value of the installation, as well as the value of a warranty.

Ignore the 'town inspector' worries. Mini splits are commonly installed by homeowners. You will need to use a licensed electrician, will need building permits, and potentially may need your main electric panel upgraded to a higher level of service.

Get the facts, do your homework. It can be done, but is it worth do it yourself in the long run.

There's a lot of really good HVAC guys who do side work who will give you a reasonable price. As an HVAC guy, my advice would be to say "give me an install how your do it in your own house." And pay what they want and I promise you'll have a good running system that'll last years to come.

No to handman. You can DIY it's easy takes about an afternoon to put one in. Total cost for a 1.5 ton aka 18000 BTU unit with buying tools is under 2k.

Do mini splits and hire a professional who has extensive experience with these systems. They're going to be making holes in your house—you want someone who's done it dozens of times. And you need someone who understands the most efficient way to heat and cool your home. Do it once, do it right, and it'll be cheaper in the long run.

I don't know what your home is like but 16k seems like a reasonable price if you have, say, one condenser and 4-5 heads. I second the advice to take out a CT heat loan. Less than 1% interest and you will almost certainly spend less on the loan than you would on the existing utility bills. Also, there are lots of rebates and credits this year. We are getting about 18% of the cost back to us.

Finally, get two additional quotes. We got one quote that was 20k higher than the others, and the company did a whole song and dance about how they have a whole TEAM of professionals and they clean up at the end of the day blah blah blah. I'm confident that they would have done good work but I don't need to pay a 20k premium to cover their costs and have the work be done in four days instead of six, you know?

you can install a mini split yourself in some instances... 16k for a single zone is highway robbery

I invest in a small and efficient window ac unit to save on electricity. I would love to have my entire place on ac but the costs are too much

I'm currently expanding my current CT home improvement business to start installing these at a more affordable price. Most hvac companies are making like 40-60% profit margins on these. A single 12k zone mini split shouldn't cost like $5k.

I have a lawyer looking everything over and mini splits don't require any hvac permits or licenses to actually install. Almost all towns only require a permit for the electrical part. 

I hope to soon be installing the same mini splits as Carrier for close to half the cost of these hvac companies. My install will be eligible for the energizect rebate as well.

For one mini? Brand? Seems like he's in the ballpark. I dont see ONE replacing your baseboard, and you better place it strategically for whole house cooling