FWIW, the Lennox iComfort has a setting to override the comfort mode and force a 3 or 4 degree temperature differential before it starts/stops the gear. This helps reduce short cycling but also kind of makes it a tad bit chilly before it shuts off the AC.
BTW @SMAlset , I have two 3 ton units that combined with the air handlers take 5.1 kW when both are running. These are regular scroll compressors (not the more efficient variable speed units that I now wish I had) which are supposed to be 18 to 20 SEER units.
So if you ever wanted to estimate what energy you'd save by getting a new smaller tonnage with a nice inverter driven compressor, it looks like you could almost cut AC consumption in half. If you run the ACs a lot, It may be worth the money to invest a bit before the current unit breaks down.
