September-October_2021 - 10

AIRFIELD LIGHTING
AUTHOR John Fogel
MAKE DURABLE AND AFFORDABLE HALOGEN AND
XENON LAMPS PART OF YOUR
Economic Transition Plan
FOR EVERY airport, large or small, safety always
comes first, which means finding the right products
for runway, taxiway and approach lighting is
paramount. Airfield lighting must perform well
in both day and night, and through poor weather
conditions, such as in fog, rain, snow and high winds.
While many large, international airports driven by
mandates to reduce energy usage and lower their
environmental footprint have already transitioned
to LED lighting, many smaller municipal and regional
airfields still rely on the affordability and durability
that halogen and xenon lighting can provide.
It is true that LEDs have a long life
The first option is to stick with
and use less energy. However, there
are no LED drop in replacements
for existing fixtures that use halogen
lamps. LED lights may save money in
the long run but transitioning to this
lighting solution can be an expensive
proposition up front. For many airports,
grant money, like those awarded by the
FAA or state transportation boards, is
the only practical means of adopting
LED lighting. The good news is that
airports that don't have access to grant
money do have options for safe airfield
lighting.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JOHN FOGEL
John Fogel, Halogen Product Manager
at Amglo, has worked with the company
for more than 10 years in product
development, qualifying products with
the FAA, and building partnerships. For
more information, visit www.amglo.com
existing lighting that utilizes halogen
and xenon. These solutions continue
to offer safe, reliable lighting, but it
doesn't have to be a permanent solution
if your airport ever chooses to begin
the transition to LED, which could
take many months or years depending
on the size of the airfield. The second
option offers a happy medium between
installing a new LED lighting system
and sticking with an existing solution.
Under this scenario, airports install LED
lights incrementally as their budget
permits, replacing existing lighting
section by section. For this to work,
each section must be changed at a time.
The Detroit Metropolitan Wayne
County airport tried this hybrid option
with great success. The airport has
moved incrementally from incandescent
to LED lighting since 2006, replacing
taxiway lights in 2008, followed by
245 centerline lights in 2013, and 180
touchdown zone lights on Runway
4L-22R in 2016. Following completion
10 \ AIRPORTBUSINESS / SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021
of the project, the airport received
a silver award from the Institute for
Sustainable Infrastructure.
Of course, airports that want to
transition to LED lights incrementally
will need a convenient, affordable
product with high availability for the
sections that are not yet being replaced.
With incandescent bulbs being phased
out of production, the remaining choices
in today's market are halogen and xenon
solutions.
Hence, the enduring popularity of
halogen and xenon. Halogen lamps can
be used for almost all of an airfield's
needed lighting, including runways,
taxiways, airfield guidance signs and
approach systems such as VASI, PAPI
http://www.amglo.com
September-October_2021

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