As cooling demand rises across Canada, a new heat pump technology is drawing attention for its potential to reduce the energy needed to cool and dehumidify large commercial buildings.

Developed by Boston-based startup Transaera, the technology tackles one of the most energy-intensive aspects of air conditioning, managing humidity.

“Conventional air conditioners handle [humidity] in a surprisingly wasteful way,” Ross Bonner, Transaera’s co-founder and chief technology officer, told The Energy Mix. They cool air to remove moisture, and in many cases reheat that air to a comfortable temperature, he explained, a process that can account for as much as half of an air conditioner’s energy use.

Transaera’s system removes moisture first and then cools the air. The company says separating the two functions reduces the amount of energy needed to maintain comfortable temperatures.

The heat pump uses metal-organic frameworks (MOFs): materials designed to absorb water vapour directly from the air. They act like a “supercharged desiccant,” Bonner said. Once the air is dried, less energy is required to cool it. Waste heat generated by the air conditioner then dries out the MOF material so it can continue absorbing moisture.

With that change in approach, “dehumidification and cooling work hand in hand rather than fighting each other,” Bonner said. “The result is a fundamentally more efficient heat pump that also heats in winter, with no reliance on natural gas.” 

Researchers have explored desiccant-based dehumidification systems for decades, but Transaera says its use of MOFs and a design compatible with existing HVAC equipment sets it apart. Bonner said the system can reduce energy consumption by up to 40% in very humid climates compared to conventional systems. A six-month deployment at an Amazon logistics facility in Houston validated those energy savings, and in May, the two companies announced a multi-year commercial agreement to integrate the new system into Amazon’s network of buildings.

In Canada, commercial/institutional energy use increased by 23% from 2000 to 2020, but the relevance of this type of heat pump varies by region. Bonner said the technology performs best in humid conditions, pointing to Southern Ontario, Quebec’s St. Lawrence corridor, and coastal British Columbia as regions where humidity creates meaningful cooling loads.

Natural Resources Canada spokesperson Monica Rai similarly notes that regions with humid summers or mixed climates may see greater performance gains from advanced humidity-control strategies. Rai told The Mix in an email that commercial and industrial buildings with large rooftop HVAC systems, high ventilation requirements, or substantial cooling loads may be especially well positioned to benefit.

While Amazon is among the company’s earliest customers, Transaera sees broader applications beyond warehouses and logistics centres. The company has launched a pilot project at a multifamily residential building in Washington, DC.

The system costs about 20% more than a conventional unit upfront, which typically translates to a two-year payback period, Bonner said. “In markets with high electricity prices like New York, the payback can be just as strong, even if absolute megawatt-hour savings are lower.”