In 2019, airport technology is quickly evolving and lighting isn’t going to be left behind. The right path to get there, though, may not initially seem clear. There are lighting options to choose from, power and controls to tweak and money waiting to be saved – and not just one way to do it.
OCEM Airfield Technology – made up of Multi Electric, which OCEM bought in 2001, and the French-based company Augier, a manufacturer of constant correlators – has been working with airports around the world for years. Beginning originally as a producer of electrical porcelain conduit wireways in 1917, then shifting to the airfield lighting after World War II, OCEM Airfield Technology has a combined 300 years in lighting – providing them a unique perspective on how lighting trends.
Cesare Angeloni, business unit manager at OCEM Airfield Technology, said that the current trends can be broken down into three areas: the control and monitoring systems, the power supply regulator systems, and the runway and taxi lighting fixtures.
“The control and monitoring system have had a significant impact. We introduced individual alarm control and monitoring system using power line communications, which is today incorporating functions like Internet of Things inside of individual fixtures. We also see now, for the control and monitoring system, increased requirements for integration of the control system into the other functions of the tower. And this is something that is changing at a very fast pace,” described Angeloni.
For power systems, Angeloni continued, most of the world has moved to microprocessor regulation technology, with OCEM Airfield Technology among one of the first companies to make an IGBT high-speed frequency regulator – which is dedicated to LED technology. LED is what most of the world is moving towards. In certain territories, such as the U.S., fluorescent lights are still commons place, but their inefficient energy consumption is quickly rendering them obsolete compared to LEDs, said Angeloni.
“The third area, fixtures, the big change occurred during the early 2000s when the market moved toward LED. We are told that we were the first manufacturer of LED in-pavement runway lights. And we have been manufacturing a complete portfolio of LED now for more than a decade, from the approach, to the runway, to the taxi. This includes, of course, elevated lights, in-pavement lights, and guidance signs. On the guidance signs, we introduced four years ago, slim, very slim one-inch-thick guidance signs based on LED. It's been widely accepted globally and it's what the customers are now asking more and more,” said Angeloni.
LED lights and their associated technology provide an airport a handful of benefits, namely increased visibility and savings costs from increased energy efficiency and reduced labor. Angeloni says that increased visibility is what’s behind much of the market’s drive towards LED.
“This is about safety. Safety is the most important element that drives the design, the certifications and should also define and determine the way the products are selected,” said Angeloni.
Safety was one of the key considerations behind Vancouver International Airport’s (YVR) LED apron lighting install in 2017 – Canada’s largest LED lighting system.
“At YVR, our primary focus is to operate and maintain a safe, secure and sustainable airport and in 2017, YVR completed the largest state-of-the-art Apron LED lighting system installation in Canada.” said Don Ehrenholz, Vice President, Engineering at Vancouver Airport Authority. “The new apron lighting system significantly reduced YVR’s energy consumption and improved safety due to stronger coverage, reduced glare and increased lighting levels.”
The LED lighting system at YVR was retrofitted onto their existing structures by Musco Lighting. The process to install the lights began in 2013 when YVR contacted various lighting manufacturers to research the industry. From there, YVR narrowed down their list to three prospective proponents to supply their high mast LED lighting.
“Our previous lighting system was effective, however it required significant maintenance by shutting down the gates to change the lights. As the industry has progressed, it was time for a change. We created a technology team to look at other options to improve lighting throughout Sea Island, including our terminals, bridges and runways. We conducted a test trial to better familiarize ourselves with the technology, installation, maintenance requirements and other features. In 2015, based on the trial results, we selected Musco Lighting and partnered with BC Hydro to begin work on the full upgrade to a new Apron LED lighting system,” described Ehrenholz. “We began the full installation with a phased approach to coordinate with airport operations and the project was completed in 2017.”
The result was the installation of nearly 450 new LED fixtures and 62 high-mast poles, as well as a new system to control the lights.
“The system is self-managed and is driven from the gate scheduling software and operates automatically. The new lighting system features a number of operational efficiencies. It issues an alert if there is a pending failure. An app can also be downloaded to allow users to dim controls or query system diagnostics. YVR’s new apron lighting is adaptive and based on gate usage – meaning that lighting will increase and decrease based on gate schedule in order to save energy. YVR is the first airport in North America to use an adaptive dimming system based upon gate usage,” said Ehrenholz.
The lights also utilize anti-glare properties, making for a brighter and safer work environment for pilots, air traffic controller and ground crews, and the adaptive lighting system saves YVR 715,000 kilowatt hours of energy per year or the equivalent of powering 72 residential households.
Back in the States and shirking their old incandescent lighting for the benefits of LED as part of the final phase of an overall runway upgrade project is Duluth International Airport (DLH). DLH’s main goals in upgrading their lighting is replacing aging tech and increasing cost savings by doing so.
“We have new center line in pavement light going in, as well as in pavement touchdown lights on the west end. The new in pavement lights include drainage that sheds water to the drain tile along the runway at the bottom of the can. In the past we had some cans that would fill up with water, obviously that's not good. Water and electricity don't mix to well. You gain your money back from all the labor savings,” described Blaine Peterson, DLH’s director of operations.
Labor savings are often an overlooked benefit of LED lighting. LED lights require fewer visits from maintenance workers to change lights or repair fixtures, meaning fewer trips onto the runway and protecting laborers from a runway’s inherit dangers, saving airports potential costs in a number of ways. The additional benefit of fewer runway trips is also the reduction of potential foreign object debris (FOD) wreaking havoc on a runway.
Peterson said all the lighting upgrades at DLH will be to LED lights, including centreline lights, taxiway lead in lights and taxiway guiding signs.
“We are basically putting LED lamps everywhere,” said Peterson. “The LED lights that we have put in areas seem to be cleaner lights, a little brighter light. The PAPI on the west end are the newer LED technology, you can definitely notice that when you're lining up and shooting the approach on the west end versus coming in on the east end where the PAPI has not been replaced yet.”
DLH’s lighting system is also receiving what Peterson said is a minor software upgrade to control the lights from DLH’s air traffic control tower – allowing for the adjustment of the lights timing and intensity. To power the lighting upgrades, DLH is making upgrades to their electrical vault and circuitry, something other airports looking to make the similar jump to LED will need to consider, according to Frank Kazienko, airport lighting specialist at OCEM Airfield Technology.
“The basic situation is that, because they're going to be talking about their power requirements, how it's going to affect their vault, where all their power sources from come from. If they put in LEDs, they're obviously going to be downsizing, so they should be looking at replacement of equipment within the vault,” said Kazienko.
Other areas an airport needs to consider is the type of climate and environment the lights will be in and exposed to – such as the water logging issue DLH is addressing with their upgrades.
“The other thing that we consider for airports and that airports are asking us as a manufacturer more and more – and this is not only in the U.S., it's globally – is not to simply comply with the requirements of ICAO, IEC, or FAA, but often to exceed these requirements by meeting specific airport conditions, like a very low temperature or very high temperature when we are talking about the south end of the world,” added Angeloni. “And they should be looking at a manufacturer that can cover these requirements, both for the control system, but especially for the power system. The power system when making the transition to LED should be using more modern technology, which would allow them more operating power supply to the LED. And then if we look at the individual fixtures, airports should be looking at individualized protections. They should be looking at the safety of the operator that maintains lights.”
