Previous Page
AIRFIELD LIGHTING | FEATURE OSRAM has developed its new Zelion H lighting solution for the airfield market. Photo-OSRAM
Bright prospects
The airfield lighting sector faces unprecedented customer demands; now LED technology and solar power look ever more like attractive options.
A
irports around the world are converting to airfield lighting systems with light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures, seemingly because LED technology has further evolved since it was first introduced for taxiway and obstacle ground lighting about a
decade ago.
Conditions at airports are a tough challenge for light fixtures and lamps. Systems have to be capable of withstanding greatly fluctuating temperatures and vibrations and adhere to precisely defined colour spec- tra and light distribution levels at the same time. “We have seen several benefits after converting to LED lights,” con- firms Iraj Ghaemi, director of facilities development for the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority in reference to the conversion to LED at San Diego International Airport (SDIA). “The LED lights have a better visual presentation; they are much brighter and sharper, and the runway guard lights really pop visually,” he says.
SDIA replaced more than 900 incandescent fixtures and signs with LED products from ADB Airfield Solutions. “So far, the LEDs have been extremely reliable and the system has been essentially maintenance free for the first year of operation,” says Ghaemi, adding that energy usage had been reduced considerably.
ADB Airfield Solutions launched LED lighting on the market in 2002. Emmanuelle Luque, marketing and communications officer at ADB, says that the installation of LED airfield signs and taxiway edge lights at San Diego increases safety at the airport by providing a uniform appearance throughout the airfield. “The newly installed LED runway guard light system at every taxiway hold position provides increased pilot awareness in the vitally important effort to reduce runway incursions. Their pur- pose is to warn the pilots of the presence of an active runway, especially in conditions of reduced visibility.”
ADB has taken LED innovation a step further by developing its new series of Elevated Runway Edge Lights (EREL / ERES). The new products are fully compatible with existing runway circuits, and they can eas-
“The LED lights have a better visual presentation; they are much brighter and sharper, and the runway guard lights really pop visually”
ily replace current elevated halogen lighting fixtures since they are de- signed to fit on the same supports.
The technology consists of an elevated bidirectional LED light fix- ture, which includes an omni-directional beam component for circling guidance, as required by FAA and ICAO specifications. With a power con- sumption of only 33W instead of 150W for a traditional elevated halogen runway edge light, LED lighting dramatically reduces the total energy costs, which, in turn, minimises the airport’s ecological footprint. On top of enhanced cost-efficiency, LED technology also increases
airport safety. Tests have shown that the visibility of LED lighting in bad weather conditions is superior to halogen. Pilots receive more accurate visual information, both on the approach path and on the runway. The new elevated LED runway edge lighting solution is available with a syn- thetic or a glass lens. LED emission directly ensures the correct coloured filters to ensure daytime recognition. The embedded electronics of the EREL / ERES also makes the light output variable like a traditional halo- gen lamp.
In 2010, Punta Cana International Airport in the Dominican Repub- lic began a project that included the installation of more than 450 LED signs, LED wind cones and LED runway/taxiway lights. The only incan- descent fixtures on the runway are the edge lights.
The $1.6m project also included an Airport Lighting and Monitoring System (ALCMS) installation. The new system now allows Punta Cana to have full distributed control of the approach and runway lights for its new Cat I runway as well as lighting for the new taxiway segments. Control and understanding the nature of airfield lighting, especially in comparison to aircraft strobe lights is vital, if not the consequences can lead to disaster. In February 1991, USAir flight 1493, a 737 collided with a SkyWest twin-engine turboprop upon landing at Los Angeles In- ternational Airport (LAX). The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that the con- troller had lost situational awareness of the airfield and the cockpit crew
MARCH 2012 | AIRSIDE INTERNATIONAL 21