Mojave Reimagines Air Conditioning for Modern Buildings

For building owners and operators, keeping occupants comfortable has always been a balancing act between indoor air quality and energy cost. Air conditioning systems in use today rely on core technology that’s over a century old, originally designed for a very different era of building needs. Mojave, a Fifth Wall portfolio company, is tackling this challenge head-on by fundamentally reimagining how we cool and dehumidify our indoor spaces. The result is a new approach to air conditioning that delivers fresh, comfortable air using roughly half the energy of traditional systems, without the complications of a complex retrofit.

An Air Conditioning Problem a Century in the Making

Traditional air conditioning was invented for early 20th-century conditions: buildings were leaky and poorly insulated, so the main focus was removing heat. Over the decades, however, building design has evolved. Since the 1980s, improved insulation means modern structures trap heat less, while heightened awareness of indoor air quality has led to more fresh outdoor air being ventilated inside. These changes have shifted the challenge from solely cooling the air to managing humidity. Conventional HVAC units struggle with this new balance. They often have to over-cool incoming air far below the desired temperature just to wring out moisture—lowering it to the dew point, then reheating it to a comfortable level. This process wastes energy and drives up costs, all because the legacy equipment cannot independently control temperature and humidity.

The inefficiency isn’t just operational—older systems can be costly to install and upgrade in today’s environment. They weren’t built with heavy ventilation needs in mind, so adding capacity for more fresh air or dehumidification often means bulkier, more expensive equipment. For real estate professionals focused on tenant health and wellbeing, this presents a dilemma: increasing fresh air is beneficial, but doing so with existing AC technology can send energy bills soaring. The need is clear for a new cooling and dehumidification solution that can keep spaces comfortable and healthy without the energy waste.

A Fresh Take: Combining Cooling with Liquid Desiccant

Mojave’s answer to this problem is a hybrid system that marries conventional cooling with an old idea made new: liquid desiccant dehumidification. In simple terms, Mojave’s flagship product is a Dedicated Outdoor Air System (DOAS) that conditions incoming fresh air by both cooling it and drying it, but in a smarter way than legacy AC units. It uses a standard vapor-compression refrigeration cycle (similar to any air conditioner’s cooling coil) alongside a liquid desiccant circuit. The liquid desiccant—a specialized salt solution that naturally absorbs moisture—removes humidity from the air before it enters the building. Meanwhile, the vapor-compression side cools the air to the desired temperature. By separating the tasks of cooling and dehumidifying, Mojave can deliver air at exactly the right temperature and dew point needed for comfort.

Crucially, this innovative system achieves those conditions with far less energy. The dehumidification process no longer relies on over-chilling the air. The liquid desiccant system handles moisture removal efficiently, so the cooling coil doesn’t need to work as hard or run as cold. According to Mojave’s CEO, Phil Farese, the company’s technology can cut HVAC energy use by about 50%, compared to conventional setups. That means building operators can double their moisture-removal efficiency and significantly reduce electricity consumption—translating to lower utility bills and a smaller carbon footprint for the property.

Easy Installation in Any Building

One of the breakthrough advantages of Mojave’s design is its ease of installation. The company knew that even the best energy-saving technology would face hurdles if it was complicated to adopt. So, Mojave engineered its system to be a virtually drop-in replacement for standard commercial AC units. Whether it’s an old rooftop package unit on a school or a bulky air handler in a hospital, when the time comes for replacement, Mojave’s unit can slide into place with minimal fuss. It requires only standard electrical connections to run—no need for special chilled water lines, gas burners, or complex auxiliary systems. In other words, if a building is already set up for a conventional HVAC unit, it has the infrastructure to install Mojave’s solution.

This simplicity is game-changing for retrofit projects. Many commercial buildings operate on tight budgets and schedules; shutting down a facility for an extensive HVAC overhaul is rarely an option. With Mojave, a building manager or contractor can swap out an aging air conditioner for a new high-efficiency unit without redesigning the whole system. The maintenance and operation are designed to be straightforward as well. Liquid desiccant technology has been around for nearly a hundred years, but historically it required attentive oversight and was not user-friendly. Mojave’s modern implementation automates that process, regenerating and reusing the desiccant internally so that building staff don’t need specialized training to operate it. From an installer’s perspective, if you know how to hook up a conventional unit, you can install a Mojave unit just as easily.

From Groceries to High-Rises: Wide Market Fit

Mojave’s technology is applicable to nearly any commercial building that needs cooling and ventilation—which is to say, almost all of them. Its system is especially attractive for facilities with intense dehumidification demands. Take grocery stores, for example: they must maintain very low humidity and temperatures to keep produce fresh and prevent frost buildup on refrigeration units. Typically, supermarkets run their air conditioning at full tilt to supply air as cold as 40–45°F (5–7°C) just to control moisture, even if that level of cooling isn’t needed for comfort. The energy waste in such scenarios is enormous. By contrast, a Mojave unit can achieve those low dew point conditions without the excessive cooling, allowing grocery retailers to save energy while still keeping produce sections dry and cool.

Hospitals are another ideal fit. Healthcare facilities require strict climate control—operating rooms and patient wards need steady temperatures and low humidity to ensure comfort and inhibit microbial growth. Mojave’s ability to finely tune air dryness and temperature is a boon in such settings, providing a healthier environment at lower cost. Schools, too, benefit from this technology. With many schools now upgrading ventilation for better student health, Mojave offers a way to bring in ample fresh air on hot days without breaking the energy budget. The same goes for multifamily residential buildings, hotels, office towers, and practically any occupied space: wherever people live, work, or congregate, there’s a need for efficient air conditioning.

Importantly, Mojave isn’t just for cutting-edge new construction; it’s designed with the vast existing building stock in mind. Every ten to twenty years, commercial HVAC systems reach the end of their life and need replacement. Mojave aims to be the go-to choice when that replacement cycle comes due. The company has set up distribution through manufacturer representatives nationwide, ensuring that when an architect, engineer, or contractor looks for the “latest and greatest” HVAC upgrade, Mojave’s systems are on the menu. By fitting into normal sales channels and installation practices, Mojave opens a massive commercial opportunity: virtually any building undergoing an HVAC update is a potential customer for this energy-saving solution.

Momentum and Milestones

What began as an innovative idea is now a commercial reality. In early 2024, Mojave officially launched its first commercial product after extensive field pilots. The company moved quickly to scale up manufacturing and build out a sales network. By the end of 2024, Mojave had established nearly 30 manufacturer representative teams covering about 40 U.S. states, putting its solution within reach for building operators across most of the country. Market response has been strong—within that first year, Mojave booked over a million dollars in orders for its units, even as production ramped up.

Investors have taken notice as well. In the third quarter of 2024, Mojave secured a $9.5 million Series A funding round co-led by Fifth Wall. This capital infusion is fueling the next stage of growth: scaling up production capacity, expanding the sales and support teams, and continuing to refine the product with additional features. For a young company in the heating and cooling industry, these milestones—successful product launch, early revenue, and strong investor backing—underscore the commercial viability of Mojave’s approach.

A New Standard for Efficient Buildings

As real estate owners and operators strive to meet energy efficiency goals and improve indoor air quality, Mojave’s technology arrives at an opportune moment. It addresses a pain point that has long plagued the industry: how to provide plenty of fresh, comfortable air in buildings without wasting energy or overhauling the entire infrastructure. By reinventing a core building system—air conditioning—Mojave is helping turn high-performance, sustainable buildings from aspiration into practical reality.

The opportunity at hand is enormous. Air conditioning is ubiquitous in commercial real estate, and the demand for better systems is growing as companies prioritize sustainability, and as regulations push for lower carbon emissions. With its blend of efficiency, simplicity, and broad applicability, Mojave offers a compelling case for upgrading HVAC systems across portfolios. A building equipped with Mojave’s air conditioning not only slashes energy use and operating costs, but also provides a superior environment for occupants. For professionals in real estate and building operations, that combination of financial and functional benefits makes Mojave’s solution an easy one to get behind. In an industry often slow to change, Mojave is a breath of fresh air—literally and figuratively—that could define the new standard for climate control in the years to come.