I bought an American citation jet in 1997 for my business travels. I originally had planned to do it quietly, however, it became a hit unexpectedly. Some foreign journalists even reported it as a signal of China’s economical boom. But what really attracted me most was the pleasure of private flights. Just imagine: it takes only one-hour prior travel notice wherever you go, a direct drive to the jet and a few steps on board. The jet soars over the 10,000-meter high sky silently. I would have some drinks or write something at the big table. The spacious sofa was unfolded as smooth as a bed, I would gaze at twinkling stars through big windows, listening to my favorite music… What a pleasure! It’s beyond words.

However, I abandoned this luxury several years ago. I made a regulation concerning executive travels: The jet can only take off with at least 6 passengers aboard. I almost have had no opportunity of business travels by our own jet since then. I have to stand the security search, the boring waiting, regular delays, unpleasant smells, stiff seats,…Why not fly the jet that cost me over 10 million U.S.dollars? It was all because of one day a sober fact came to my attention: one tree absorbs on average18.3kg carbon dioxide (CO₂) in a year. The CO₂ emissions resulted in a 3,000km-round-trip flight from our factory in Changsha to Beijing equal the amount of CO₂ absorbed by 8 mature trees for 60 years, which has shocked me indeed.

In the early days at BROAD, we were primarily aiming at making money, followed by saving electricity for the country (there was a great power shortage in China then) and reducing CFCs for the global environment (non-electric air conditioning uses zero polluting natural refrigerant). When I earned much more money than I could spend all my life, I realized at the same time that excessive energy consumption has resulted in the global warming and has threatened the survival of our offspring. Therefore, I have only one motive: to save energy and reduce greenhouse emissions. For more than a decade, I have been leading a team of hundreds of engineers and testing technicians for continuous technological improvements and innovations, achieving a miraculous efficiency of BROAD non-electric air conditioning.

Mr. Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister and founder of o the Climate Group, has mentioned only one case study on global enterprises in his report submitted to G8 Hokkaido Tokyo Summit June 2008 “Breaking the Climate Deadlock – A Global Deal for Our Low Carbon Future “…Broad Air Conditioning (China): As incomes rise in the developing world, the demand for air conditioning is exploding, creating a new source of GHG emissions. Broad Air Conditioning, a Chinese company, sells air conditioning units that result in less CO₂ emissions than conventional units and are up to twice as energy efficient. The technology behind this is “non-electric refrigeration”, in which a liquid is heated, boiled and then cooled so the vapours condense and cool their surroundings. The unit can be fueled by local energy sources such as natural gas, avoiding increasing peak loads on the electricity grid…”

BROAD non-electric chillers are already sold in over 60 countries, and find their applications in many impressive buildings worldwide, including the tallest buildings in South America, the tallest buildings in Beijing, the biggest airport in Europe and the biggest airport in Asia. But I am far from content with the product penetration, for most of the owners and building and facility engineers are still not aware of non-electric air conditioning. They are accustomed to selecting electric chillers for over one hundred years. The promotion of non-electric chillers is still quite difficult, except for those customers who are able to see further down the road.

Qualcomm HQ in San Diego, CA witnessed a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its non-electric airconditioning on January 18, 2008. I told Mr. Irwin Mark Jacobs, Qualcomm’s Chairman that if this 4.65MW (1,323RT) chiller driven by waste heat from power generation operated 3,000 hours a year, and the amount of CO₂ reduction would be comparable to planting more than one hundred thousand trees. Needless to say, he was very excited. The owner of CDMA patents and world’s telecom giant set aside over half a day in his schedule for an air conditioning unit! I also calculated for him that the equipment investment could be paid back within one year from the energy saving. He responded in earnest that all buildings in the world should use non-electric air conditioning. I nodded, but understood that it was more than difficult to change the people’s habit.

For many years, some warm-hearted people advised our staff and me that if BROAD would make electric chillers, our market would have been expanded by 10 times. We might have been the world’s No. 1 in central air conditioning industry. I don’t know how many of our 2,000 staffare aware of their missions, or how many of them are upset by the market difficulties that they are now confronting, but they must have been proud of the following figures:

Contributions of BROAD non-electric air conditioning to the earth (till 2007):
reduced more than 90 million tons of CO₂,
reduced more than 1 million tons of SO₂,
reduced more than 500 thousand tons of NOx
reduced more than 10 thousand tons of CFCs
reduced more than 300 thousand tons of inhalable particles (PM10)

In fact, the above-mentioned figures are very boring. In recent years the annual sales of BROAD non-electric air conditioning have contributed to reduced CO₂ emissions which is equivalent to 160 million tree planting. That is to say, 80,000 trees for every BROAD employee every year, which really makes us proud. As for myself, I do not even have the heart to chop 8 trees for traveling with my own plane, as those are 8 very green and towering trees!