LED use and feedback in airport lighting

The results show that LED airport luminaires reduce energy consumption and maintenance requirements compared to traditional airport lighting technologies. LED airport lighting systems have been in use for many years, and most of the application feedback in terms of visibility and performance is positive. Through the advancement of technology and the efforts of the FAA (FAA) to promote the guiding role of LED technology in airports, the early compatibility problems have been greatly improved.

In airport lighting systems, most of the power systems were originally designed for incandescent lighting technology, so LED airport lighting systems are not compatible with this infrastructure. However, by replacing part of the power infrastructure, simply replacing incandescent lamps with LED lights can greatly improve energy efficiency and reliability.

Compared with traditional incandescent lamps, although the current use of LED lamps requires higher initial costs, after several years, the reduction in energy consumption and the maintenance cost savings may bring returns to the initial high cost investment. The maintenance requirements for LED airport lighting systems are much lower than those for incandescent systems, and future research directions can pinpoint them to the economic impact of this.

background:

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are increasingly being used in a wide variety of safety-related applications, including evacuation indicators (Boyce 1994), road traffic lights (Conway and Bullough 1999), automotive brakes and turn signals (Olson 1987). ), street lighting (Radetsky 2010) and airport lighting. Several features of LED lights make them popular in visual signal applications. (See also Appendix A for LED lights and a comparison of LEDs and incandescent sources.)

Solid state device durability and long life

Wide range of color options (including the color of all aeronautical lights)

Narrowband wavelength output produces saturated color

Quite low energy demand

Instant switching time

At present, most airports use mainly incandescent filament bulbs, which have a shorter working life than LED lamps. The incandescent standard has a working life of about a few hundred to several thousand hours (Bullough 2000). In contrast, well-designed LED lighting systems can last for thousands of hours.

The luminous efficacy (lm/W) of incandescent lamps is also lower than that of LED light sources, and correspondingly, more energy is needed. Due to the low efficiency of incandescent lighting, the enactment of the Energy Law, such as the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), has accelerated the replacement of traditional incandescent lamps in many lighting applications. Although EISA does not directly affect airport lighting, the rapid advancement of ordinary incandescent lighting replacement has contributed to the great interest and application of LED signals in US airports.

The difference between some LED lights and incandescent technology may be seen as a possible barrier to wider use of LED airport lighting. The narrow-band spectral output of LED lights means they don't produce infrared energy (high temperatures), and infrared can help melt snow and ice when the weather is very cold. LED airport lights must be compatible with the existing dedicated power infrastructure of airport lighting.

In addition, since the current LED lamps are far higher than the incandescent system in terms of initial cost investment, whether the technical advantages of the increase in the service life and the reduction of energy consumption can make up for the initial high investment will be of great concern. Conducted this comprehensive study through the TRB (United States Transportation Research Council) ACRP (Airport Collaborative Research Project), collecting information from literature, airports and other institutions that have used LED airport lighting to help airport operations and maintenance personnel consolidate and screen with Issues related to emerging technologies. The experience gained from the airport where the technology is applied is helpful for other organizations to face questions such as whether to install LED airport lighting, when to install, what are the expected benefits and difficulties. .

Installation problem

summary

Both the questionnaire report (Appendix B) and the published literature point out that there are some important issues to consider when planning an airport to install LED airport lighting:

• Installing LED airport lights seems to be more difficult to install than incandescent lamps.

• There will be compatibility issues between LED airport luminaires and existing power infrastructure designed to operate incandescent lamps. It is important to verify with the manufacturer before installation to verify that the LED system is compatible with existing adjustment and control equipment.

• It is also important to work closely with LED luminaire manufacturers during the installation process to help them troubleshoot and potentially unknown problems. Pittman (2010) reports that at Durham International Airport (North Carolina), manufacturers are key members of the LED installation team and are often consultants throughout the installation process.

LED installation expectations

According to the survey participants, the main reason for installing LED airport lighting is to reduce maintenance costs (20 people say), reduce energy consumption (18 people), and improve airport lighting visibility (13 people). Interestingly, no one said it was due to any legislative directive. While national energy legislation, such as the EISA (Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007), has raised the light efficiency requirements for general-purpose luminaires, many existing incandescent lamps may not meet this requirement in the next decade, but the bill seems to It does not affect the decision of the airport to make lighting. One reason may be that the provisions in the Act do not include special light source types such as earthquake protection and some hazardous applications, such as airport lighting (NRDC 2011).

Reduce maintenance

The desire to reduce maintenance is also often mentioned in the literature. Copenhagen Airport noted that its recently installed LED obstacle lights are expected to last 100,000 hours, far longer than the 2,000-hour life of incandescent lamps (Stegmann 2010), and a five-year operating warranty from the manufacturer. The International Airports Association (2007) reported that LED slide lights at Vancouver Airport are expected to reduce maintenance costs compared to incandescent lamps; (News) LED stop line lights at Newcastle International Airport are expected to extend the maintenance cycle of this system from one month Extended to six years (Marsh et al. 2008); Burlington (Vermont) International Airport (Edelstein 2009), (New York City, Arkansas), News News Service 2009a, Trenton, New Jersey Airport (TendersInfo 2010a), San Bernardino (California) International Airport (TendersInfo 2010b), Raleigh-Dalham International Airport (News and Observer 2010), Tulsa (Oklahoma) International Airport ( Stewart 2011a), these airports have similar reports on LED slides and runway lights. ,

Reduce energy consumption

Reducing energy consumption is another important reason for installing LED lights to replace incandescent airport lighting systems. In the literature (Airpor ts Co unci l International 2007; Rainey 2007; Nowak 2011) can also find expectations to reduce LED airport lighting energy consumption. The US General Accounting Office (USGAO 2010) listed LED airport lighting as one of the four common energy-saving devices in the airport. At Newberg Airport, reducing energy consumption is one reason for installing LED taxiway lighting (States NewsService 2009a; Targeted News Service 2010), which is expected to consume only 25% to 33% of incandescent energy. Burlington International Airport (Edelstein 2009; States News Service 2009b), States News Service 2009c, and TendersInfo 2010a also hope to achieve energy savings through LED taxiway lighting. Part of the taxiway and runway at San Bernardino International Airport has been replaced with LED lights, as there are claims that the energy consumed by LED lights is only a fraction of the consumption of incandescent lamps (TendersInfo 2010b). Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport expects its LED taxiway and runway lighting to consume only one-third of incandescent light, Canadian Corporate Newswire 2008a. Mid-line lighting at the Prince George Airport airport runway in British Columbia is also expected to use less energy than traditional luminaires.