Solar Powered LED Airfield Lighting Benefits and Savings – Southampton Airport, United Kingdom

13 Jan Solar Powered LED Airfield Lighting Benefits and Savings – Southampton Airport, United Kingdom

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Steve Thurston, Head of Planning and Development, Southampton Airport speaks about the major benefits and cost savings associated to using the Solar Series Elevated Runway Guard Lights (ERGL’s) at Southampton Airport.

Southampton Airport’s vision to become ‘Europe’s leading regional airport’ has provided the motivation for a number of innovate investments in recent years. With a couple of UK firsts amongst the developments, including being the first UK airport to have solar powered LED runway guard lighting, the regional airport with the big ideas is set to continue trend setting in 2012.

Steve Thurston, Head of Planning and Development at Southampton Airport talks about solar powered LED runway guard lights, and the catalytic effect their success has had on the airport’s further development.

As the number of aircraft and vehicle movements increased within the aerodrome over the years, regular reviews of signals, signs and markings were undertaken. In Autumn 2009, Steve and his team began researching options for runway guard lights and were keen to explore the latest technology relating to sustainable products.

“As the lights are 100% solar powered, we’ve been able to minimize the environmental footprint and maintenance costs by using a renewable energy light source. We’ve been able to install them in the more remote areas of the airport, where there is no access to power supplies. This has saved the airport over £170,000 of installation costs to lay electrics to these areas.”

Since 2010, there have been 30+ of the Solar Series Elevated Runway Guard Lights (ERGL) units installed at UK aerodromes such as Southampton and Leeds Bedford Airports.

LED-Airfield-Lighting-Operating-at-Southhampton-airport — Solar Series Elevated Runway Guard Lights (ERGL) units installed at Southampton Airport

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Project Reports

Solar LED Obstruction Lighting System Supplied for Dulles International Airport
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Solar Runway Lighting Illuminates Airstrip to ICAO and FAA Standards
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LED PAPI Supplied and Installed at Mine in Southeast Asia
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Solar Runway Lighting and Reflective Signage installed at British Columbia Airport
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LED Helipad Lighting System Installed & Commissioned in Africa
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LED PAPI Systems Powered by RMS Solar Engines Support Oceanic Civil Airports
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LED PAPI Systems and Windsock Lighting Installed at Caribbean Intl Airport
Synopsis LED PAPI System. Aviation Renewables was tasked with the planning, surveying installation and commissioning of Solar LED PAPIs and Solar LED Windcones in Georgetown, Guyana. These visual aids will be used permanently following the completion of a runway extension project. The savings in installation cost, maintenance cost and electricity made the solar LED PAPI the desired option for this gateway to the country. Challenge Cheddi Jagan International Airport, in Georgetown Guyana, is nearing completion of a runway extension project. As part of the project, new lighting was installed during resurfacing of the existing runway. In order to meet cost and sustainability goals for the project, the airport consulted Aviation Renewables on ways to implement ICAO-compliant lighting that would make an impact on both financial savings and the environment. Solution Aviation Renewables installed a solar powered LED PAPI and solar powered LED windcone as part of the permanent visual aids package on the airfield. These two products are fully compliant to ICAO standards, and present significant savings in both energy and carbon emissions. The LED PAPI has a solar power system that is appropriately sized to power the LED PAPI 24/7, with additional redundancy for extended periods of cloudy weather. With no electrical inputs required, the airport saves a large amount of electricity, but also allows the airport to reduce the number of CCRs and circuits they require. This is a massive reduction in initial cost when compared to a conventionally powered system. The Solar LED Windcones operate autonomously with almost no main- tenance required. With an individual solar power system for each wind cone, the internal luminaire and obstruction light operate dusk to dawn through an automatic photocell switch. The tilt-pole design allows for easy replacement of the windsock fabric by one person, when required. With no other maintenance or electrical inputs, the Solar LED Windcone will offer long-term savings over a period of 15 years or more. Aviation Renewables worked with the airport on the initial design layout, and attended the site for surveying, installation, commissioning and training. Over the course of one week, the team was able to complete two Solar LED PAPIs and two Solar LED Windcones, without impacting airport operations. View the complete Project Report and find more about LED PAPI Systems and Windsock Lighting here. Solar LED PAPI Systems Installed and Commissioned by Aviation Renewables