First post (anywhere) so please bear with me.

We are building a new home in Western Washington. Mild climate. Average winter low15-30 degrees. Lots of rainy days 40-55 degrees. Heat used 9 mos, cooling 1 month or less.

House is 1080 sq ft (45' x 24') with a full daylight basement (to be finished in the future).

We have been attracted to mini-splits based on economy of use. We're pretty handy and would like to do as much of the work as we can. But we're a little overwhelmed at this point. Local contractors are talking $ 7-10,000 for a 4 head system. On line prices are all over the map. Everyone claims they have the best equipment and features.

So we are looking for some first hand unbiased advise. Is there a Consumer Reports type site for these? Are there big differences in quality among manufactures? Is one or a few better than the rest? Can we reasonably expect to save some $$$ doing some of the work ourselves? Are there reliable on line sources for this equipment?

I'm sure there are other questions but these seem to be some of the most important. And I don't want to overload one post.

Any help will be appreciated.