The advice these days, is that it's better to run the machine on longer cycles and less start/stop on the system. That means that it runs all the time, but they can use smaller units to cool larger homes. That also means that if you turn your air on you can only expect about 0.5 - 1 deg C of cooling per hour. A large machine may also freeze up easier, from what I have been told but that doesn't make as much sense to me as long as it's installed correctly.
Example: my house has a 3 ton unit for a little less than 2500sqft zoned system, but I really only use it to cool the upper floor and the air spreads down to the main.
When we went away last weekend I turned it up to 23, and when I got home it took about 4 hours to cool down to 21ish.
MoneyGuy, I think if you are away for two weeks, it is smart to shut down your system. If you are just going to work, you should have a programmable thermostat to turn the system back on an hour or so before you come home, so yes much like your winter approach.
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