I have a ranch style home, 2200 sq. ft., heated/cooled by a 5 ton outdoor unit and a 4-5 ton indoor air handler. The system keeps the entire home at a perfect temperature, except for the kitchen area. This area is currently served by one supply duct. There is only one house return and it is almost on the opposite end of the house from the kitchen. I have a good HVAC man and we are batting some ideas around which are:

- Mini split system.
- Adding a supply duct.
- Adding a possible return, but the tie in could "overload" the existing return duct.

I don't really want an air handler in this area, too noisy. The kitchen area is around 10 x 25.

What is the smallest conventional split system I could use in this area? I would have to have the air handler in the crawl space.
Would it be possible to move the thermostat closer to this room?
Would it be possible to have two thermostats for my existing system?

I really think I may end up needing some form of separate system for this area. Almost all of the house is over a basement with the exception of the kitchen area which is over a crawlspace. I wonder if this is making this area always warmer? The floor is insulated but this area is always warmer or colder than the rest of the house.

Ideas? I know pricing is taboo but FYI, running a new duct would be around 1K. Not sure what the ballpark price would be too cool that room but that is the kind of information I need to really make a good decision about fixing this.

Thanks.