Ground Support Worldwide - 11

INDUSTRY EXPERT
COLUMN:

GSE

The United States Green Building Council
(USGBC) is considering including ground service equipment energy for aircraft as part of
the building's total energy consumption. In the
past, aircraft energy was considered a process
load that was not reviewed or considered in
building energy consumption from a heating
and cooling standpoint. Using building utilities
to feed the aircraft has a tremendous impact
on total energy consumption. Considering this
energy conservation measure of using the central system can potentially provide up to a 28
percent energy savings on average.
Although this utility is for the aircraft, and
is considered ground service equipment, and
therefore not part of building energy consumption, it is recommended that the project
team explore considering this system as an
innovation credit.
Digging deeper into how this opportunity
developed, it was driven by engineers who were
looking for a way to realize the energy savings
gained by using central systems towards the
project overall benefit. To raise awareness of
this issue and to drive industry-wide change
by promoting the credit, project team experts
in conjunction with USGBC leaders objectively
define this credit for airports.
To accomplish this, the project team worked
with manufacturers to create a list of 100
airports and categorized them by number of
passengers per year and whether they used
a centralized or point-of-use system. The
team factored the 10 most similar in size to
the example project and compared the numbers
for centralized systems against the point-ofuse examples. These figures provided quantitative data to the USBGC about energy usage by
size of facility for the Energy and Atmosphere
(EA) credit, which informs project planning
and decision making.
The purpose of the exercise was to validate
that since point-of-use systems are more common. When the airport invests in a central
system, it should be considered as an additional energy conservation measure, and not
industry standard.
Because LEED criteria apply to many building types, part of the underlying intent of this
logistical analysis for the innovation credit is
to show how airports have different energy
needs, distinct from other buildings. After the
analysis, the team found that airports have a
substantial process load compared to other

buildings and should have different performance standards, similar to data centers and
other facilities with a higher than average load.
It is inevitable that airports will use more
energy, but they should get credit for finding
innovative ways to reduce consumption, even
if they still use more energy than a school or
office building.
The idea is that, although energy consumption is relatively higher and fluctuates more
as planes come and go, airports will continue
to make progress and set the energy savings
bar higher as time goes on and technology
improves. Recent LEED certified projects
that have taken advantage of central pre-conditioned air are receiving EA credits for optimized energy performance.

Seizing Additional Efficiencies
In addition to inherent efficiencies, consolidation is an optimal way to get diversity from a system, so leaders thinking of
implementing a central system can further
reduce costs by finding ways to link systems.
The best approach is to start by examining
existing systems to see where they can be
expanded and joined with other systems.
For example, two buildings of a similar size
could potentially be tied together, resulting
in both operating at a lower net capacity. The
sharing of cooling and heating systems from
a central plant across multiple buildings is
another way to consolidate operations to
increase efficiency.
Any opportunity to share resources -
including space, chilled, condenser and hot
water infrastructure, etc. - from one terminal
or area to another is an opportunity to increase
efficiency and reduce energy consumption
while lowering costs. Industry leaders are
increasingly creative about how they can
achieve success in an airport application as
the market demands it, while still providing
the same level of comfort to airline passengers
and others who use the airport.

Finding Space Solutions
Locating space for the centralized equipment
can be a challenge. Space at the ramp level is
at a premium and the equipment itself is large.
Stakeholders compete for the space at the ramp
level: general storage and airline operations
spaces with parts storage and workshops for
the people who service the planes between
flights. Electrical rooms, baggage belts, technology equipment and mechanical rooms that
serve the terminal also compete for this space.
At the same time, the height of the ramp
level must be high enough to accommodate
centralized infrastructure equipment, and
the overall area is generally crowded, often
understandably resulting in resistance when
additional infrastructure space is proposed.
Some of this space would have been consumed by electrical gear regardless, because
every system needs power, whether central or
point-of-use. Point-of-use systems would have
larger electrical distribution gear that has to
go somewhere. Many are often surprised to
find that the net area added is only about 30
percent more. Coupling the central PCA heat
rejection to the building chilled water system
can offset space by eliminating the need for
cooling towers at the airside.
Airports inevitably consume significant
quantities of energy, which comes at a high
cost. As energy prices rise and the emphasis
on sustainability and reduced consumption
continue to strengthen as market trends,
industry leaders are looking to invest in solutions that will reduce energy and costs for
the long term, especially as airport funding
models shift. Installing a central system in an
airport requires data collection, quantifiable
investment analysis and concise planning
due to the complex nature of the system.
However, the proven benefits of energy and
emissions reductions, coupled with excellent
return on investment, show the benefits that
a centralized PCA system can provide an
airport terminal.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Dominic J. Cacolici, PE, is Principal with TLC Engineering Solutions
and can be reached at dominic.cacolici@tlc-eng.com.
Kevin D. Keiter, PE, is Principal with TLC Engineering Solutions and
can be reached at kevin.keiter@tlc-eng.com.

MAY 2020

AviationPros.com

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Ground Support Worldwide

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