[bamafan]

Having lived in the south, Florida & Alabama, all my life I can say that its the humidity that makes you feel so much hotter. A/C systems are designed to remove or regulate the amount of humidity in the air in your home. They will also only drop the temp @ 20degrees from what the outside temp is. So if it is 98 outside you may only get 78 inside lest the unit runs all day till it catches up. Insulation is the key.
We have our t/stat set on 76/77 during the day. My problem seems to be at nite. I have a programable tstat that I've set to drop 1 degree at 3:30am so the air will come on and keep me cool while asleep. At 8am it goes back to the day time setting. I have talked to one friend in TV who told me they set their tstat on 79 during the day while they are out, she works, he plays golf. They turn it down in the evening to about 75/76 and they have a very low power bill.

Steve, your wife and mine must be related.