Heathrow Airport LED upgrade

Country

United Kingdom

Year

2014

London’s Heathrow is the world’s busiest international airport. Since 2003, £ 11 billion has been invested in improving Heathrow. This represents one of the largest private sector investments in UK infrastructure in recent years, and is all part of the airport’s objective to “Make Every Journey Better”.

In 2014 a major upgrade to LED lighting was carried out, in cooperation with Glamox Luxo Lighting. The project included a variety of key locations at the airport, such as terminals, control posts, car parks and more.

Important cost savings

This investment in the latest energy-efficient technology will contribute to improved passenger ambience, and at the same time reduce the airport’s energy and CO2 consumption.

Heathrow has set a target to reduce its absolute CO2 emissions from fixed sources by 30% on 1990 levels by March 2020. Significant savings will also be made on maintenance costs:

Heathrow, a major hub airport, has particularly high costs of access for maintenance. In all areas maintenance can only be carried out during a few hours at night. The airport’s new LED lighting solutions are virtually maintenance free, so that 100% lighting levels can be upheld without cumbersome and time consuming light source changes.


Project descriptions

Project 1: Car parks at Terminals 2, 3 and 4
In the terminal car parks most of the lighting was provided by traditional 5ft 2x58 Watt corrosion proof luminaries, using approximately 122 Watt each. The airport was aiming to reduce energy costs and maintenance cycles, while improving the experience for the passengers/users.

Our solution

Looking at the client’s requirements and specifications for these area types, we looked at a one-for-one replacement using 4ft Glamox GPV2 LED running at 40 watt per fitting. This enabled us not only to meet the requirements, but also to use a third of the power consumption, showing massive energy savings.

In some circumstances 2ft GPV2 LED were used on the perimeters in place of single 5ft luminaries. Utilizing external light sensors and daylight switching, further reductions in the energy consumption were obtained. On the ground floor of the Terminal 3 car park we used the i80 at high level in place of discharge lights and incorporated occupancy sensors on alternate lights.

Product types: GPV2 LED & i80


Project 2: Terminal 4 entrance canopy (Arrivals)

The old terminal entrance lighting was on 24/7. Here the airport was using 250 Watt metal halide high bay luminaires recessed into the ceiling, which is 8 metres high. These luminaries had started to fail and fall into disrepair. The airport was looking at reducing the energy consumption and improving maintenance. Access was a major issue.

Our solution

By using Glamox i80 mounted within the recess and supplying an external bezel we actually improved the energy consumption by 69%, while contributing greatly to improved maintenance. With the aid of external daylight sensors some 70% of the luminaries are now switched off during daylight hours, thus providing further energy savings.

Product types: i80 LED 8000 DALI 840 MB HTG


Project 3: Passenger Subways linking Terminals 1, 2 and 3

The passenger subway linking the terminals at Heathrow were lit by a combination of linear fluorescent tubes and recessed and surface mounted CFL downlights. Subway transfers were not a particularly pleasant experience for passengers. It was important that we should be able to enhance the lighting in these areas.

Our solution

In cooperation with lighting designers Studio Fractal and installer Crown House Technologies, it was decided to redesign the entire system’s lighting scheme. We used Glamox C50-SR LED RGB for the wall wash. This makes it possible to change the colour of the walls in order to make the lighting more exciting. All recessed and surface mounted downlights were substituted with LED models. As a result, the passenger tunnels are now well lit and have a much more pleasant ambience.

Product types: C50-SR RGB, D70-R195 LED and i75 LED

Project 4: Security control posts

The vehicles security control posts are a particularly important part of an airport’s security system. All vehicles entering the airport area are thoroughly checked in full light, 24/7. The old 250 Watt metal halide floodlights at some of the control posts were failing, diffusers were discoloured and maintenance was becoming an issue.

Our solution

An upgrade was made at a total of four security control posts. Changing to Glamox GPV2 LED luminaires gave good energy savings and reduced maintenance costs. We also suggested the use of Glamox i80 mounted on the columns using our turnable bracket. This again gave good energy savings and reduced maintenance costs. It also enhanced the lighting in these areas to a very high standard. Airport management is now looking to roll this out to other control posts across Heathrow.

Product types: i80 and GPV2 LED