What do you do for air conditioning?

[Nicholas]

Went from a Gibson 3 ton to a Rheem 3.5 ton.

The unit cools quick, and this house is holding the cool a lot better than I thought it would.

For the first time in my life I can't wait to see our electric bill.

[Russell Tavern]

Put in a pool, that is how we dealt with it. We have a stone farm house with three floors (so not an easy option for attic and basement runs). We do have a few small window units for the master bedroom and 3rd floor common space between 2 bedrooms. One larger window unit in our great room keeps the downstairs relatively cool(ish).

[Wackyshack]

We have AC window units in the bedrooms. In the lower end of the house 2 rooms get used constantly and have A/C the great room and a portable A/C I used in the sewing room. That can be moved if needed to another space in the house... Only do the rooms you use.

[BungalowMo]

I have an ac unit in my dining room & another in the spare bedroom. Running the unit in the spare room is plenty for me. The doors are directly across the hall from each other. I use a pedestal fan in the spare room to cool my room & the bathroom. Plenty! :0)

[Haldeman1773 (WavyGlass)]

We have more space to cool (and in which to run ducts) than most old house owners, but here's the quick run-down on our heating and cooling:

Oil-fired boiler with 6 zones of copper fin-tube radiators
Two 5 ton traditional ducted AC systems
Two 3 cu.ft. wood stoves (Blaze King Ashford 30)
A few odd bathrooms with electric baseboard
Three Mitsubishi mini-splits for various utility areas (workshop, music studio, etc.)
- the mini splits do heating and cooling for those spaces
Direct-vent propane heater for attached garage
Propane fireplace on patio

It's an old house... it's not going to have a straightforward heating/cooling plan. But, with the mix of systems we have, we're able to heat this big lossy space about as efficiently as can be done.

The mini-splits work for storage and utility spaces, but I would never want to see them in my house. They do the job, but... ugly, ugly, ugly! They would be the absolute last resort option, for cooling my house. I'd choose a traditional ducted system, unless it were flat out impossible to run ductwork. Second choice would be high velocity ducted, which costs a LOT more and doesn't perform quite as nicely, but is the best cosmetic option.