To elaborate on thermal bridging since it was brought up again... there are several ways to calculate it, but to keep it as simple as possible, here is how it affects your total wall's insulation. First thing, if you put in r20 rated insulation product, you are certainly not getting an r20 wall for cavity walls. Other products such as ICF and SIPs (some SIPs even have thermal bridges) are nearly thermal bridge free and have what is called continuous insulation. My home is an ICF house from the footings to the roof, and there are no thermal bridges anywhere until the roof line. This gives me an r28 continuous insulation. However with wood frame structures, you have a framing reduction to take into account. Most new homes, studs, heads and plates take up anywhere from 18-25% of the wall area. (lets keep the numbers whole and rounded for easy math) Say you select blown fiberglass in a 2x6 wall, gives you roughly r20. You have 1000sqft of wall surface. That r20 is only for the stud bays, and every 16" roughly you only have an r1 due to the stud (framing factor) So you have 800 sqft of wall at r20 and 200 sqft of wall at r1. . Your "r20" wall is performing at an r16 on average with the studs acting like heat sinks. Add just 1" of XPS foam to the exterior (r5). Your r20 turns into r25, and your r1 turns into r6. Now 200 sqft of your wall is an r6 vs an r1 and reduces the heat sink effect.The materials to add that 1" XPS would be roughly 500-600 for that 1000 sqft wall. The upgrade from blown fiberglass to open cell foam is typically more than that. For adding exterior foam, details are pretty simply up to about 1.5" thick. After that, the details change and become more costly. Luckily for you, in zone 4. 1.5 is about as thick as you need to go. 1" would be a good start, and your details really do not change. I have detailed 1" foam and windows 1 of 2 ways. Either install the sheathing and foam and then the window. Or with 1" foam, most window flanges are 1 1/8"+ wide, so you can install the window and then install the foam. This gives them about 1/8"+ lap for a caulk joint for trim to hide the foam. The trim stands proud of the window with this detail obviously. 1.5" adds another step. I like to detail a frame out around the windows and butt the foam into it. So frame the wall as normal, install sheathing, then rip a 2x4 in half to give them 1.5x1.75 furring to frame out around the window RO. Install the foam, butt into the furring around the window, and then set the window, nailing into the furring. Everything planes out, and quite simple. Obviously this can also be done with 1" foam too, its just not necessary. There are lots of details floating around out there. Check out green building advisor as well. You can also checkout my blog for more details and nerdy building information. Again, a very untechincal explaination, but you get the idea hopefully. Here is a link that might be useful: home building blog

I am not a PRO, but would like to throw out a comment or two. The ability of an a/c system to reduce humidity is dependent on the temperature of the evaporator (inside) coil. With the emphasis on 'higher SEER' (larger coils) these days, a higher SEER coil of the same capacity will have a higher (hotter) temperature, and thus will condense less water. Airflow is also a factor. Most units are run with an airflow of 400 CFM per ton. This will produce an expected degree of performance with respect to sensible (temperature you can feel) and latent (humidity) capacities (removal). Your home's heat gain profile may require more latent capacity than is being delivered. If so, the airflow can be adjusted (approx 350 CFM/T) to increase latent capacity. By the same token, some contractors may adjust the airflow higher (> 400 CFM/T) to achieve a higher SEER. In such a case, humidity removal will suffer. Five ton units have special needs with respect to return air. I will refrain from commenting on your situation. V

"Bad" power factor does NOT increase the REAL actual power consumed, "REAL" or actual power is measured in kW, that's all you use and that's what you're charged for. If device(CFL) uses 80% of the power going into it, the power factor is 80%. Power factor is the Real Power divided by the Apparent Power. For example, 98 kW (Real Power) ÷ 100 kVA (Apparent Power) = 98%. Again, residential customers are charged only for the REAL Power actually used, not the Apparent Power sent, That's not our problem, it is for the utility, believe me if it was a significant amount we would be billed a fee for power factor. Factories are billed for power factor,power factor does require the utility to compensate a little bit, it's at a far, far lower level than would be the case if they had to make up the total difference between the actual power factor and a power factor of 1.We can and do ignore the power factor issues in residential, there would be no way to diagnose anything if no rules applied or reality unable to be qualified. To prove this point, I set up an experiment with CFLs vs. incandescent lights (resistive loads with a power factor of 1.0), and measured watts and volt-amperes delivered by my inverter. Then I measured the amps from my power source, a bank of L-16 batteries, which are DC sources wise to the tricks of reactive power....The low power factor did not require the batteries (or the utility) to produce any extra energy.

posters are giving you good info for the most part. (hey Ryann..how ya doing?) the less stops and starts your unit makes..benefits you in more dehumidification, lower operating costs and longer life of unit. one way you can help your system out since it is not running long enough to dehumidify, is to add a stand alone dehumidifier. place it as centerally as possible in your home and be prepared to empty out the water it removes as the RH in your home is lowered. btw if hvac companies did load calcs most homes would have correctly sized units instead of oversized units. sizing for the 10 hottest or coldest days of the year assures that the ho will not be calling hvac company on those few days when outdoor temps exceed the 20 degree difference that ac is desigend to achieve from indoor to outdoor. this is a shoddy way to do business, but happens daily. hvac company can charge more for larger unit and ho pays the cost monthly in utility costs plus upcharge for larger unit. also they get to replace sooner. doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out does it? pay now for load calc..save on cost of size of unit and monthly utility cost or pay now for larger unit and every month for excessive operating costs..and do it all over again in 10 to 12 years. best of luck.