Cool Air, Hot Takes™ Podcast

Charlie Jelen is a Data Center Sales Account Manager at Trane, where he helps clients navigate one of the most demanding and fast-evolving sectors in the HVAC world. With 15 years of experience spanning HVAC and power systems, Charlie has become a trusted expert in energy efficiency, thermal design, and electrification. He’s especially drawn to emerging technologies with the potential to reshape entire industries, from new forms of power to ever faster computation and the innovations redefining modern data centers.

A graduate of the University of Minnesota with a degree in mechanical engineering, Charlie joined Trane in 2014 and has built his career around sustainability, system modeling, and designing largescale solutions for complex facilities. Off the clock, he’s usually at one of his kids’ sporting events, or measuring something four times before making a single cut. Because while most people follow “measure twice, cut once,” Charlie can’t get the sneaking suspicion out of his head that he didn’t measure that piece right.

Dan Gentry is an Applications Engineer at Trane, where he specializes in chiller plants, heat recovery, and heat pump systems for complex building and industrial applications. After getting his start as an intern in Trane’s Technology Lab where he worked in the acoustic lab while still in school, Dan spent eight years with a Wisconsin chiller manufacturer before returning to Trane in 2018.

Dan geeks out about all things decarbonization, with a special passion these days for data center solutions where he finds there’s just so much to unpack and innovate. He’s always energized by conversations about chillers and heat pumps, which remain his long‑standing engineering obsessions. And despite being surrounded by modern digital tools, Dan has one decidedly analog quirk: when it’s time to review piping diagrams, he must print them out and trace every line with highlighters. Paper, markers, and a good mechanical pencil are his essentials.

Dan holds a bachelor’s degree in HVAC Engineering Technology from Ferris State University. Outside of work, you’ll find him floating on the Mississippi with his family or relaxing at their cabin in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.