Do you turn your A/C when you won't be home for extended periods of time?

I leave it on if its hot, saves a lot of humidity being removed later.

If it’s very hot, I’ll set the temp at 76F for my dogs

Yes but I leave it on for my pets on very hot days

If you don't have pets, or programmable thermostat - you can leave it at like 80 so it kicks on now and then and it doesn't have to run continuously playing catchup when you get home...

Invest in one of those programmable or smart thermostats. It'll start up the AC 45 minutes before you get home..

The same applies to heating your home in tge winter..

I keep it on for the pets when I'm at work.

I always left mine on due to the birds but turned it up about 3 degrees. If everyone turned it off and came home and turned it back on you’ll have some brownouts and blackouts because it’s in the heat of the day.

No I turn the a/c off during the day. I'm shaded by trees so it doesn't get hot during the day.

Never off. When I leave the house it’s set at 78. When I come home 74. When I go to bed 71.

When away I have it run at a higher temp, like 78 or so. Shutting it down will only result in the compressor trying to fight the temperature back down and running constantly when turned on again. Drastic changes in humidity are also not good for the interior of a home.

I leave mine at 80f.

Messing with settings often can wear on the system during up usage & cost.

If gone for extended periods of time shut the unit off.

Depending on the heat differential, you could end up spending more as the A/C is forced to take cooling from hot to cold instead of maintaining a comfortable cool.

Is it a big unit, a heat pump or a window unit?

If no one is home, the AC is off. That's always been my policy.

Kinda. My HVAC system is programmable timer thermostat controlled.

Off...definitely.