Issues with the Use of Airfield LED  Light Fixtures John D. Bullough, Ph.D. Lighting Research Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Illuminating Engineering Society Aviation Lighting Committee  Conference ∙ October 18, 2012 © 2012 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. All rights reserved. Background  Technological advantages of LEDs: › Durability and longevity (when designed properly) › Wide range of available colors › Narrowband output – saturated color appearance › High efficacy – low energy requirements › Immediate “switch‐on/switch‐off” time  Questions about LEDs: › Lack of heat/infrared output › Compatibility with electrical infrastructure › Cost/return on investment 2 © 2012 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. All rights reserved. Airport Cooperative Research  Program  Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National  Academies commissioned a synthesis study › Funding from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) › Overseen by topic expert panel from industry, academia and  government (FAA and airports) › Review literature and published findings about airport  experience with LEDs › Survey airports with LED experience to (hopefully)  corroborate literature  Provide a resource for airports considering LEDs to help  set expectations and ensure they ask the right questions 3 © 2012 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. All rights reserved. The TRB Process  Topic expert panel members are instrumental › Develop preliminary scope of work › Select contractor › Review outline and survey materials › Review initial and subsequent drafts  TRB reviews final report for “sensitive  statements,” editing and final production  Report is published in hardcopy and PDF formats 4 © 2012 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. All rights reserved. Report Outline: ACRP Synthesis 35  Methods  Current practices and  challenges  Installation issues  Operation and maintenance  issues  Economic issues  Future outlook  Resources for airports 5 © 2012 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. All rights reserved. Methods  Literature review › IES Aviation Lighting Committee conference presentations › Transport Research International Documentation (TRID) database  maintained by TRB › Trade press: International Airport Review, Airport World, Aviation Week  and Space Technology, etc. › Newswires: TendersInfo, States  News Service, etc.  Survey of 22 airports/aviation  agencies with LED experience › Input from topic expert panelists to identify respondents 6 © 2012 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. All rights reserved. Current Practices: Types of Systems 7 © 2012 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. All rights reserved. LED System Experience 8 © 2012 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. All rights reserved. Perceived LED Challenges  Electrical compatibility  Questions about  heat/ice build‐up  Higher initial costs  Finding objective  technical information 9 © 2012 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. All rights reserved. Installation Issues: Expectations  Primary reasons for LED installation: › Reduce maintenance costs (20) › Reduce energy use (18) › Improve visibility (13)  Not concerned about incandescent lamp  availability following Energy Independence and  Security Act (EISA) of 2007 › EISA exempts rough service lamps and certain  applications such as airfield lighting 10 © 2012 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. All rights reserved.