Aviation is an industry that has taken important steps to realize the potential of LED taxiway lights. The FAA is particularly interested in the potential of LEDs to replace existing light bulbs at US airports.
Aircraft are a unique challenge for LED lighting. Airport lighting requirements are often more stringent than residential, commercial or outdoor lighting. These requirements are necessary to ensure the safety, visibility and longevity and durability of the installed lighting systems.
We highlight the 5 most important reasons why this is important:
1. Higher in efficiency
LED lights consume up to 70% less energy than halogen bulbs. This energy efficiency will be financially beneficial in the long run. The service life of LED luminaires is also longer than with traditional luminaires, which gives LED luminaires a faster return on investment.
2. Eco friendly
Short power consumption means a small carbon footprint to illuminate your airport.
3. Extra light
Runway guidance signs or the AGL airport lighting are already in place to help pilots and maintenance personnel navigate the airport. The brightness and the uniformity of LED technology is a great advantage for airports when they are retrofitting their boards.
4. Now is the right time
Due to the quiet airports and planes on the ground, there is no better time to upgrade such now. Additional assembly of the signs is yet a quick and easy job which is normally done by the airport’s own service team. Per sign will just take the time of one hour.
Electronics are not expensive compared to a brand new sign, so retrofitting is a relatively inexpensive way to repair boards.
5. Less maintenance
TGS often requires constant maintenance. LED taxiway lights technology has a higher average time between errors (MTBF), which means less maintenance.
If there is a need of maintenance, it will take around five minutes to fully replace the LED module or the electronic controller.
Conclusion
However, in order for airports and aircraft to benefit from LED technology, changes in aircraft electrical infrastructure need to be considered. These changes will include a major overhaul of the design of the airport lighting electrical circuits.
Currently, airport electrical circuits are optimized for light bulbs. While LED lighting can work in this current design, greater energy savings can be achieved through a new electrical circuit infrastructure specifically designed for LEDs.
The existing electrical infrastructure at US airports has already begun to introduce new electrical systems that facilitate the integration of LED lighting into various airport lighting applications.
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