Mini-split HVAC question?

It is the small outside unit with a blower inside that looks like a hotel unit. I am doing the same and have researched this extensively. It is definitely the way to go for your application.

Now you will be able to cool your bedroom without having to cool the rest of the house. If you are like me, I want it COLD in my bedroom at night but don't need to cool the rest of the house like that. This allows that. Most of the mini splits I looked at will handle up to 1000 sf so you shouldn't have a problem with master bed/bath and laundry.

If you extend your existing central AC into the new space, you may have to get a bigger unit plus they will have to run new ducts. The mini split is the way to go.

Like Webfoot said. The Evaporator is stand alone on the wall. I’m sure it wouldn’t matter in the mud room but to me a mini split in the bathroom would be unsightly.

You will only have one wall unit.

Go with it. Technical name for them is ductless split. Not all are the wall hung. They have cassette ceiling mounts and ducted in the ceiling as well. See the Mitsubishi link below. It will give you a far better picture of what you're getting into.
LINK

Several people have mentioned hotel units as a comparison, those are PTAC units and MUCH larger and MUCH louder than the inside portion of a mini-split. The scale of the picture posted also makes the evaporator section look larger than it actually is.

As they gain traction in the US there will be less stigma associated with them. They are extremely effective and very efficient.

FYI, they make ducted air handlers for mini-splits. I have 2 air handlers that run to 5 rooms with short duct runs.

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Can anybody give me any info on what this means and how it relates/compares with central heating and air?

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Think hotel AC or a window unit has a baby with a central unit.

Inside, instead of a unit in your attic with ducting like you would see with a central unit, you're going to have something similar to a hotel AC. Basically, you'll have a slim cabinet mounted on the wall or ceiling (sometimes you'll see them in an attic with small ducts to registers) that holds the cooling coil and a fan to draw air in from the room and blow it across the coil and back out into the room. Air will circulate only in that room, just like a hotel AC or a window unit, but WAY quieter.

Outside, instead of something loud and ugly hanging off of your wall like you would see with a window unit or a motel AC, you're just going to have a small refrigerant line going out to connect the wall mounted evaporating unit to a condensing unit. The outside portion is just like a central AC system, but with a MUCH smaller and quieter suitcase sized condensing unit that can be mounted fairly remotely from the inside unit to allow you to keep the looks of your home intact.

One of the major benefits of these systems is that they're stupidly efficient because you've eliminated the ducting. A sizable amount of the energy used to cool the air in a central system is lost through the ducting to the walls or the attic. This puts all of the cooling right in the space you want cooled. Plus, you get the benefit of a multi-zoned system. No more fighting over the thermostat like you'd get in a single-zone central system. Every room can have its own temperature set point. Even better, when you have rooms that aren't being used, you can dial that temperature up just so you keep the room dry and avoid moisture problems, but don't waste money comfort cooling spaces that are seldom used. When you need to cool a room, it takes minutes to bring the temperature down from the moisture prevention temperature.

What is your rough quote to have the mini split added? I got a quote for a similar sized space and it was $4200 ish. Seemed very high to me. But that is in the ballpack or cheaper than adding a stand alone system.

As said, the main benefit to them is you can control the temp in whatever room the system is in.

LINK

DIY, with minimal skills