Mestex, a division of Mestek Inc., announced plans to market an innovative gas heat-pump air conditioning system for indoor agriculture – as well as for commercial, institutional and residential buildings.

The new Sierra GHP unit, which uses an internal combustion engine to drive mechanical parts of the unit, has recently gained popularity in the U.S., especially for indoor agricultural applications that rely on mission-critical heating and cooling, 24/7.

In partnership with the manufacturer of the Sierra units, Aisin World Corp. of America, and with Blue Mountain Energy of Nevada, which will develop the nationwide network of sales representatives, Mestex will be the exclusive nationwide distributor of Sierra natural gas, variable refrigerant flow air conditioners that provide energy-efficient heating and cooling.

When compared to AC units fueled by electricity alone, the Sierra may reduce a building's electrical cooling costs by as much as 80 percent. With both outdoor heat exchangers and indoor air handlers, the Sierra does not require special ducting, which makes it ideal for retrofits. In addition, the VRF capabilities ensure energy savings when operated at partial loads, which, for most applications, is much of the time.

Widely used in Japan, GHP air conditioning is still an emerging market in North America.

"Until now, GHP units were available only in a few U.S. markets," said Mike Kaler, president of Mestex. "Those pilot programs have proven that the Sierra GHP AC has excellent reliability and performance, even under the most extreme conditions. We're proud to be rolling this out nationwide, because demand for these types of units is growing across the country."

"We believe now is the right time to work with a company like Mestex, with decades of experience in a wide variety of HVAC installations in all corners of the United States," said Takayuki Kadan, general manager of Aisin World Corp. of America.

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