In Texas's latitudes, I'm not sure if compass orientation would play a role.Here in the "upper" portions of the Midwest, anything facing north is sheltered from the mid-day sun by what ever it's attached to.When this house was built, I had them put the condensing unit (CAC) on the north side to shield it from the sun most of the day.With the sun higher in the mid-day sky, dunno if it would help that much.David J Dachtera"Success is not a destination.

@Matt Kampf  My opinion, for what it's worth, is that if someone stole the AC (I assume you mean the outside condenser), then it's not a "great neighborhood."

The high efficiency furnaces do not last as long as the older mid efficiency furnaces because of condensation with the furnace and the heat exchanger. 

They could have put it in AC mode to defrost the condensing unit.  

online isnt horrible, if you know what you're doing. as far as a condenser, they usually come with a level of pre-charge but not enough to be harmful during shipping. never bought either online, but i know people that have and have had good results. 

But things like exterior damage/failure (other than outside condenser) wouldn't be covered typically.  

I have two identical units and by playing musical parts determined I had a bad condenser fan motor.

If you stay with something gas fired, go high-efficiency condensing boiler and a tankless water heater.

What costs you will NOT double: The plumbing fixtures, the water heater, the wiring/electric panel, amount of piping/PEX,  the condenser/furnace.

I see too many landlords trying to save their money fixing the junk these companies are putting out.Typical parts to fail: evaporator fan motor, condenser fan motor, control boards, icemaker, water valve, door switch, defrost sensors, defrost timers(some models), bi-metals, heating elements Recommended brands: Whirlpool/Ge/Maytag/KitchenaidProblem child’s Samsung/LG/Frigidaire/Electrolux 6.