Ductless units are much more efficient than conventional ducted systems. The Fujitsu systems go up to a SEER rating of 26 which I believe is the highest you can get ducted or not. There are many great brands out there, but as mentioned above, the installer is just as important as the brand. There are several recessed units available now so you won't see the airhandler mounted on the wall.

Posted by: Todd S at April 16, 2009 10:16 PM in response to Ductless A/C Systems vs. Central

Regardless of the makeup of the baseboard/radiator one of the best ways to make any baseboard/radiator more comfortable is to use a weather responsive control or Outdoor Reset Control. These controls change the temperature of the water inside the radiator based on how cold it is outside. The effect will be that the heat is on longer but at a lower temperature, you will smooth out the peaks and valleys between heat up cycles AND your system becomes more fuel efficient maybe 10-30% better(depending on several factors). The only company that I know of that has real data on the efficiency of hot water radiators is this one below.
You can read for yourself the tests and reports on their website.

http://www.jaga-usa.com/ especially look at the low H20 models if you are looking for efficiency.

Posted by: Todd S at April 16, 2009 9:48 PM in response to Aluminum baseboard vs. cast iron

hey wyckoff - yes, they are flush to the wall. walls are white, grill is white and you can't see the A/C (painted inside of box black). we did a gut reno with creative renovation. don't really know re the space.

Posted by: justmoved at April 17, 2009 4:03 PM in response to Ductless A/C Systems vs. Central