Comparisons
One option against another, priced
Each piece puts two routes side by side with the cost, the lead time and the limits on both sides, and says who each one suits. The verdict is in the first fifty words.
- Dry Cooler or Cooling Tower: What the Water Bill Says in 15 Markets
A thousand gallons of water and sewer costs $24.80 in Douglas County, Georgia and $8.68 in Baton Rouge as of October 2026, and since a 50 MW open cooling tower needs about 300 million gallons a year, Open Factory's MEP Cost Table puts the gap at $3.6 million a year.
- Modular Is Not Cheaper: A 50 MW Prefab Electrical Room, Line by Line
A prefabricated electrical room for a 50 MW datacenter is not cheaper: Open Factory's Datacenter MEP Cost Table lands the skid route at $3.51M per MW against $3.47M stick-built, 1% more, but 27 weeks faster at 95 weeks from power-block PO to energization against 122, as of August 2026.
- OFCI vs Design-Build: How Hyperscalers Buy Chillers and Colo Developers Do Not
Owner-furnished, contractor-installed chillers and CDUs for a 20 MW liquid-cooled hall cost $27.9 million against $32.8 million through the mechanical subcontract, a saving of $4.9 million or 14.9%, because OFCI strips a 15% subcontractor markup and 10% GC fee, per Open Factory's Datacenter MEP Cost Table as of June 2026.
- Grainger vs McMaster vs Amazon Business: A 50-SKU Price Basket
Open Factory priced the same 50 MRO items at six distributors on 10 September 2026: Fastenal's median web price was 126% above the cheapest storefront, McMaster-Carr's was 37% above, and Amazon Business was the floor, cheapest on 34 of 48 SKUs with a comparison.
- Recips vs Turbines vs Fuel Cells for a 100 MW Bridge
A 100 MW bridge plant over five years costs $96 per MWh on solid oxide fuel cells, $104 on gas reciprocating engines and $112 on aeroderivative gas turbines at 85% utilization and $3.78/MMBtu, with first power in 17, 27 and 30 months, per Open Factory's MEP Cost Table in 2026.