Heat-exchanger coils are integrated into the hot aisle, creating a wall of coils on the back sides of the racks.

Heat from servers is rejected into the lower heat exchangers. The resultant hot- aisle temperature drops to 76.5° F. Air then passes through the overhead fans and is returned to the cold aisle at 77° F. (The 0.5° F rise is attributed to the overhead fan assembly.)

Keisling says eOPTI-TRAX went from concept to reality when "we realized we could pump refrigerant without a compressor and handle varying loads, control it and use relatively little power in the process under most conditions."

The TELUS project is not just about a cooling system. It's a whole-building delivery model approach, packaged by Skanska, that also includes a so-called data-center intelligence software platform (DCIP) to optimize facilities management. "We integrate with real-time data-gathering systems to make the data non-static," so it can be used to bridge the silos between building-system management modules and optimize data-center operations, asset management and more, says Paul DeRonde, president of Control Solutions Group, New York City.

The software-application firm has an ownership position in Energy Metrics, which wrote the DCIP for TELUS. "Nobody does this the way we do," says DeRonde.

Skanska is so sure of its holistic model for data-center delivery that it is not just handing over the keys to TELUS—it is guaranteeing the data center's performance. If the building does not meet its energy targets, Skanska will cover incremental energy costs. "It's risk-free for TELUS," says Switzer.

Skanska delivered the first phase in only 10 months. Carnemark credits the speed in large part to the modular approach, which turned a two-year build-out into less than a year. It also saved TELUS $55 million up front. It would have cost $120 million to build the entire footprint, says Switzer.

TELUS is so pleased that it is using Skanska for a twin data center in British Columbia, set to go on line next June.

Inertech is also on a roll. It has submitted applications for provisional patents for more-efficient electrical products and plans to start prototyping them in the fall. Beyond that, Inertech is working on new technologies for solar hot-plate designs. When asked to define a solar hot plate, Keisling said, "Wait for the invention."