Your favorite Midwestern duo is back in the studio!

Charlie and Dan are cranking Season 5 of Cool Air, Hot Takes into high gear, and there’s a lot to unpack. Energy, data centers, and other game-changers for the engineers and industry pros running these systems – to name a few.

You’ll hear from industry insiders who’ll finally tell you where all those stats everyone loves to quote actually come from, plus engineers who traded nuclear reactors for server farms and lived to tell the tale. You’ll also get the inside scoop on a new modular system about to shake up data center infrastructure. 

We want your hot takes and questions! Email [email protected], drop a comment on YouTube or Spotify, or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Don't forget to rate and follow too!

Cool Air, Hot Takes™ is a Trane Commercial podcast exploring bold innovations, emerging trends, and game-changing tech in HVAC, energy, and the built environment. Learn more at trane.com/coolairhottakes.

Follow for new episodes every two weeks and stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

While our team is cooking up Season 5, we're throwing it back to one of our favorite episodes from past seasons.

Today, Ali Heydari, Director of Data Center Cooling and Infrastructure at NVIDIA, joins hosts Charlie Jelen and Dan Gentry to unpack how AI “factories” are reshaping data center design and why Ali thinks the AI revolution is the biggest change to the our lives since the industrial revolution. Ali explains why geometry (not thermodynamics) pushed the move from air to liquid, why NVIDIA standardized on PG25 for direct-to-chip cooling, and how digital twins in Nvidia’s Omniverse help right-size everything from chillers to dry coolers. We also dig into the tradeoffs between higher loop temps and rack density, and why cross-industry collaboration matters more than ever.

We also have:

• HVAC Headlines: Why Legionella is a serious risk of poorly maintained HVAC equipment and how to avoid it, plus, why prices are soaring in the country’s largest grid region.
• Stat of the Day: Can you guess which states lost the most power in 2024?

We want your hot takes and questions! Email [email protected], drop a comment on YouTube or Spotify, or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Don’t forget to rate and follow too!

Take our survey: We love making Cool Air, Hot Takes™, but we want to make sure you love listening to it. Head to podpolls.com/hottakes, fill out our quick listener survey, and give us your hottest takes about the show. 

Cool Air, Hot Takes is a Trane Commercial podcast exploring bold innovations, emerging trends, and game-changing tech in HVAC, energy, and the built environment.

Follow for new episodes every two weeks and stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

While our team is cooking up Season 5, we're throwing it back to one of our favorite episodes from past seasons.

Industrial heat accounts for approximately a quarter of global energy consumption, says Ruth Checknoff, today’s guest, and is the key to hitting climate targets. 

Today on Cool Air, Hot Takes, Dan and Charlie welcome Ruth Checknoff, Senior Project & Research Director at the Renewable Thermal Collaborative, to talk about the hot (literally) challenge of decarbonizing industrial thermal processes. From whiskey distilleries in Scotland to policies in Pennsylvania, New York and Colorado, Ruth walks us through the tech, the trends, and the temperature thresholds behind industrial heat pumps, thermal batteries, and more.

Plus, we have:

• HVAC Headlines: Why Charlie loves the demand control ventilation at Disney and the wild world of copper theft and HVAC units.
• Listener Mailbag: Air source boilers and nuclear power’s comeback.
• Stat of the Day: Which states are building America? 

We want your hot takes and questions! You can email us at [email protected], leave us a comment on YouTube or Spotify, or review us on Apple Podcasts. Don’t forget to rate and follow too!

Take our survey: We love making Cool Air, Hot Takes™, but we want to make sure you love listening to it. Head to podpolls.com/hottakes, fill out our quick listener survey, and give us your hottest takes about the show. 

Cool Air, Hot Takes is a Trane Commercial podcast exploring bold innovations, emerging trends, and game-changing technology in HVAC and energy management.

Follow for new episodes every two weeks and stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Youtube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

While our team is cooking up Season 5, we're throwing it back to one of our favorite episodes from past seasons. 

Is AI really the future of HVAC, or just industry hype?

In this episode of Cool Air, Hot Takes, hosts Charlie Jelen and Dan Gentry talk with Jean-Simon Venne, CTO and co-founder of BrainBox AI, about how artificial intelligence is reshaping HVAC systems. They explore real-world ways AI boosts energy efficiency, enhances preventative maintenance, improves indoor air quality, and helps buildings reduce their carbon footprint.

We also discuss:

• HVAC Headlines: Boston announces new net-zero emissions requirements, mandating that most large buildings achieve net-zero carbon from day one starting in 2025.
• AI & HVAC: What’s actually achievable when buildings embrace AI and the future of HVAC careers in an AI-driven world
• Stat of the Day: Dubai’s Business Bay District chilled water plant - how much cooling do you think it delivers?

We want your hot takes and questions! Email [email protected], drop a comment on YouTube or Spotify, or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Don't forget to take our listener survey at podpolls.com/hottakes and rate and follow too! 

Cool Air, Hot Takes™ is a Trane Commercial podcast exploring bold innovations, emerging trends, and game-changing tech in HVAC, energy, and the built environment. Learn more at trane.com/coolairhottakes. 

Follow for new episodes every two weeks and stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Take our survey: We love making Cool Air, Hot Takes™, but we want to make sure you love listening to it. Head to podpolls.com/hottakes, fill out our quick listener survey, and give us your hottest takes about the show. 

Today on Cool Air, Hot Takes™, hosts Charlie Jelen and Dan Gentry sit down with Frank Kohout, a 35-year HVAC engineer veteran who spent a big chunk of his career at McDonald's Global. If you've ever walked into a McDonald's and not sweated through your shirt, Frank probably had something to do with it. He walks us through what restaurant HVAC actually involves, why air balance is everything, and what happens when you get it wrong.  

We also have: 

• Hot Takes: Randy from Chicago is back with another refrigerant.  
• HVAC Headlines: The EPA removes the 410A installation deadline. A Portsmouth courthouse goes down again due to HVAC failure. Plus: Denver's plan to heat and cool downtown buildings using sewage.  
• Stat of the Day: The world's largest fast food chains by revenue. 

We want your hot takes and questions! Email [email protected], drop a comment on YouTube or Spotify, or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Don't forget to take our listener survey at podpolls.com/hottakes and rate and follow too! 

Cool Air, Hot Takes™ is a Trane Commercial podcast exploring bold innovations, emerging trends, and game-changing tech in HVAC, energy, and the built environment. Learn more at trane.com/coolairhottakes. 

Follow for new episodes every two weeks and stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Take our survey: We love making Cool Air, Hot Takes™, but we want to make sure you love listening to it. Head to podpolls.com/hottakes, fill out our quick listener survey, and give us your hottest takes about the show.  

Today on Cool Air, Hot Takes™, hosts Charlie Jelen and Dan Gentry sit down with Angie Simon, mechanical engineer, former president of a $125 million mechanical contractor, SMACNA President, and now co-founder of Heavy Metal Summer Experience. Instead of taking it easy in her “retirement”, she's getting kids off the couch, putting a torch in their hands, and showing them what a career in the trades looks like at Heavy Metal Summer Experience. Angie walks us through how it started, and what kids gain from the experience.  

We also have: 

• Hot Takes: Is opposition to data centers modern-day Luddism, and is air-cooled everything the new normal? 
• HVAC Headlines: A new hospital in Newfoundland just became home to Canada's largest geothermal system. Plus: the rollback of a Biden-era rule that tied FHA and USDA-backed mortgages to 2021 energy code compliance, reportedly adding up to $31,000 to the cost of a new home. 
• Stat of the Day: A look at the top and bottom 10 bachelor's degrees by early career salary — and where a trades career stacks up against all of them. 

We want your hot takes and questions! Email [email protected], drop a comment on YouTube or Spotify, or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Don't forget to rate and follow too! 

Cool Air, Hot Takes™ is a Trane Commercial podcast exploring bold innovations, emerging trends, and game-changing tech in HVAC, energy, and the built environment. Learn more at trane.com/coolairhottakes. 

Follow for new episodes every two weeks and stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Today on Cool Air, Hot Takes™, hosts Charlie Jelen and Dan Gentry celebrate a milestone: Trane's Graduate Training Program turns 100. Kris Gagermeier, Trane’s Director, Technical Training Center of Excellence joins to walk through the program's origins, how it's evolved over a century, and where AI fits into the next chapter of HVAC workforce development, including what it takes to get through 14 weeks in La Crosse. 

We also have: 

• HVAC Headlines: Repair revenue is eating a bigger slice of mechanical contractors' business — up from 21% to 31% since 2021, with more jobs, higher ticket sizes, and lower costs. Plus: Bill Gates-backed TerraPower is breaking ground on a 500 MW sodium-cooled nuclear reactor in Wyoming, targeting 2030. 
• Stat of the Day: Dan mulches it over and shares some surprising landscaping industry stats.  

We want your hot takes and questions! Email [email protected], drop a comment on YouTube or Spotify, or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Don't forget to rate and follow too!

Take our survey: We love making Cool Air, Hot Takes™, but we want to make sure you love listening to it. Head to podpolls.com/hottakes, fill out our quick listener survey, and give us your hottest takes about the show. 

Cool Air, Hot Takes™ is a Trane Commercial podcast exploring bold innovations, emerging trends, and game-changing tech in HVAC, energy, and the built environment. Learn more at trane.com/coolairhottakes. 

Follow for new episodes every two weeks and stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.  

Today on Cool Air, Hot Takes™, hosts Charlie Jelen and Dan Gentry sit down with Matt Caldwell, Director of AI & Cloud Data Centers at Hyper, a company building low-voltage electrical equipment for the data centers powering the AI boom. Matt makes the case that the US-China AI race makes the 1960s space race look like a warm-up lap — and explains why the industry needs to rethink how it designs, manufactures, and deploys infrastructure at speed. 

We also have: 

• Listener Hot Takes: Uncle Tom's hack for checking building pressurization, and Broadband Jesus’s EnergyNet. 
• HVAC Headlines: Should your HVAC company have a mascot, and a Winnipeg case where rooftop HVAC metal theft caused around $500,000 in damages. 
• Stat of the Day: Domino’s delivers how many pizzas a day? And just how much did the Apollo program cost in today’s dollars? 

We want your hot takes and questions! Email [email protected], drop a comment on YouTube or Spotify, or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Don't forget to rate and follow, too! 

Take our survey: We love making Cool Air, Hot Takes™, but we want to make sure you love listening to it. Head to podpolls.com/hottakes, fill out our quick listener survey, and give us your hottest takes about the show. 

Cool Air, Hot Takes™ is a Trane Commercial podcast exploring bold innovations, emerging trends, and game-changing tech in HVAC, energy, and the built environment. Learn more at trane.com/coolairhottakes. 

Follow for new episodes every two weeks and stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Today on Cool Air, Hot Takes™, hosts Charlie Jelen and Dan Gentry sit down with Mike Dawson, VP of Sales at Parklane Mechanical, a company that's been solving industrial noise problems for over 30 years. Data centers are booming, and we've all heard the noise about them. Turns out, they're also just literally loud. Neighbors have opinions about that. Mike breaks down how noise control works, why it needs to be part of the conversation earlier than most people think, and what the job looks like on the ground.  

We also have: 

• HVAC Headlines: How data centers helped keep the lights on during Winter Storm Fern, Trane's new collaboration on oil-free compressor technology, and a 25-year cheese study that has absolutely no business being this interesting. 
• Stat of the Day: Which U.S. states gained the most residents in 2025. 

We want your hot takes and questions! Email [email protected], drop a comment on YouTube or Spotify, or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Don't forget to rate and follow too!

Take our survey: We love making Cool Air, Hot Takes™, but we want to make sure you love listening to it. Head to podpolls.com/hottakes, fill out our quick listener survey, and give us your hottest takes about the show. 

Cool Air, Hot Takes™ is a Trane Commercial podcast exploring bold innovations, emerging trends, and game-changing tech in HVAC, energy, and the built environment. Learn more at trane.com/coolairhottakes. 

Follow for new episodes every two weeks and stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Season 4 is here! Hosts Charlie Jelen and Dan Gentry are back in the studio, fresh off the floor at AHR 2026 in Las Vegas, where the Cool Air, Hot Takes™ booth was open for business, t-shirts were flying, and the industry had lots to say. 

This week, Charlie and Dan break down their hot takeaways from the expo — from the CDU arms race taking over every corner of the exhibit hall, to a surprising surge in electrification energy that nobody quite saw coming.  

Live from the AHR Expo floor, we hear from:  

1. Allison Clements, Design Engineers: A hot take on the gap between elegant design and real-world operability and why your maintenance guy needs to be in the room. 
2. Ray Reiling, Trade Water: Why end-of-life refrigerant is everybody's problem and almost nobody's responsibility, and what you can do about it. 
3. David & Conrad Bishop, Twin Bishop Strategies: How the service industry is about to get hit hard by the scale of data center growth and why working smarter isn't optional anymore. 
4. Spencer Ingaldson, Darcy Solutions: Groundwater-enabled geothermal that delivers 50x the capacity of a traditional well. Yes, really.  

We want your hot takes and questions! Email [email protected], drop a comment on YouTube or Spotify, or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Don't forget to rate and follow, too!

Take our survey: We love making Cool Air, Hot Takes™, but we want to make sure you love listening to it. Head to podpolls.com/hottakes, fill out our quick listener survey, and give us your hottest takes about the show. 
 
Cool Air, Hot Takes™ is a Trane Commercial podcast exploring bold innovations, emerging trends, and game-changing tech in HVAC, energy, and the built environment. Learn more at trane.com/coolairhottakes. 

Follow for new episodes every two weeks and stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Hot takes, cool systems, and zero fluff — Season 4 of Cool Air, Hot Takes ™ from Trane is here. Join Charlie and Dan as they bring in the sharpest minds in the industry to break down what's actually happening in heating, cooling, and building technology. AI, refrigerants, heat pumps, data centers, and whatever else is keeping engineers up at night.  

Cool Air, Hot Takes ™ is brought to you by Trane Commercial, part of Trane Technologies, a leading provider of innovative climate control solutions and energy services for commercial environments. 

Follow now wherever you get your podcasts for sharp insights, bold opinions, and a good time guaranteed.