Based on my experience with most houses’ insulation, especially bigger ones, I cannot imagine it being economical to cool it for 8+ hours when no one is there (for work and school), rather than letting it warm and then starting the AC 30min before people start coming back home.
The AC will be more efficient in the morning, for one, than during the heat of the day. And if you let the entire house get truly hot inside, it will take a lot longer than 30 minutes to bring the temperature down (it's not just air that has to get cool, it's all the solid objects as well). And when it's fairly hot outside, it may not actually be possible to get it cooled down if you wait until the heat of the day. E.g. my AC will keep my house at 70F when the temperature outside is over 110F, but if I let it drift up to 80F inside and then try to bring it down to 70F in the mid-afternoon, it won't get any lower than maybe 75F until the ambient temperature outside drops into the 90s.
Also can't use a fan on the west coast in the later parts of the summer when the air is full of wildfire smoke.
Gosh I wish I could find it. I've referenced this problem a few times, I need to find it. I might have the book, if I can find it I'll update this post.