S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
LED lights the way forward
Hangars can benefit hugely from the installation of energy saving lighting
“To adequately light the space at floor level,
many hangars use conventional fixtures
that can consume up to 1100 watts each.
Compared to traditional options, alternative
lighting solutions can deliver up to 75%
in energy savings and perform better in
higher levels of ambient lighting,” says
Greg Aufderheide, director of business
development at US-based industrial lighting
supplier Flex Lighting Solutions.
“Additionally, routine maintenance for
conventional fixtures like changing lamps
and ballasts can be costly in hangars
because lifts are required and aircraft
must be moved. Low maintenance lighting
solutions such as LED high bays are designed
to drastically curb upkeep costs and deliver
energy savings.”
When one airport in south east Michigan
had to replace its entire lighting system due
to damage incurred by accidentally deployed
fire sprinklers, it took the opportunity to
improve lighting levels and reduce energy
and maintenance costs by upgrading to
LED lighting.
The project involved a one for one
replacement of 88 fixtures, changing out
six lamp T-5 fluorescent fixtures with Flex’s
Essentials Series LED high bay fixtures with
the wet location rated option. Operating
18 hours a day, six days a week the airport
50 | BU S INE S S A I R P O RT INT E RNAT I ONA L JA N UA RY 2 0 2 0
achieved a 69% reduction in energy use and
an annual cost saving of US$15,495 after the
lighting upgrade.
“Additional savings are also expected
from reduced labor and maintenance costs,
not having to service 528 fluorescent tubes
on a frequent basis and replace ballasts,”
Aufderheide notes.
Headlines of forest
fires and floods
are keeping the
environment at the
top of the news agenda.
It’s therefore little wonder
that sustainability is growing in importance for aviation
companies, which are regularly cited as key contributors to
climate change.
The aviation industry accounts for around 2% of
global man-made CO emissions and 12% of total transport
related emissions, a contribution that is set to rise on the
back of a projected 5% a year growth in air travel up to
2034. Environmental responsibility is becoming more
important to both companies and their customers and
conscientious businesses are therefore looking for different
ways to operate more sustainably, whether in the air or on
the ground.
According to figures from the European Business
Aviation Association (EBAA), the business aviation sector
has already reduced its carbon footprint by 40% over the
last 40 years. But there is still work to be done. Industry
initiatives such as the Business Aviation Commitment on
Climate Change aim to halve emissions by 2050 relative
to 2005. The larger scale International Civil Aviation