This Webinar is dedicated to ICAO compliance of S4GA Solar Airfield Lighting systems.
In this Webinar we talk about ICAO regulations and explain why S4GA Solar AGL can be used as permanent system by Commercial Airports.
Airfield lighting industry has changed over the last decades. If 10 years ago solar runway lights were used as a temporary solution, today more and more airports would choose solar airfield lighting as a permanent system for their airports. Why? Because of numerous advantages that solar AGL solution has:
In this Webinar, we explain:
1. Typical cases when commercial airports use solar permanent runway lighting
2. Key ICAO documents regulating AGL
3. ICAO Compliance of S4GA Solar Airfield Lighting
The ICAO compliance of S4GA Solar Airfield Lighting Webinar was hosted by Mr Dmytro Kuczeruk – S4GA Business Development Manager.
| QUESTIONS | ANSWERS |
| Q1: How often you need to clean the solar panel and provide the maintenance? | A1: The cleaning frequency depends on the location and can vary from every second week to every two months.
When it comes to maintenance – our lights are designed for 15 -20 years of continuous operations. The most frequent part that User has to exchange every 2-3 years, is the battery. |
| Q2: Do you have a high-intensity and inset runway lights? | A2: In our offer we have a high-intensity runway lights, but not inset lights.
However we can solarise every type of light. Therefore, if an inset light is a requirement of a runway lighting system design, we can make it solar-powered. |
| Q3: Are your high-intensity lights certified? | A3: Yes, our high-intensity lights are certified.
See S4GA certificates here. |
| Q4: Is the light autonomy of 180 hours the same if operated at 1200 Candela? | A4: 180 hours is the autonomy of the minimum intensity of 10%. At 1200 Candela light autonomy will be around 50 – 6o hours. |
| Q5: Can you opt S4GA for precision airports? | A5: Yes, you can opt our products for precision airports, however the Airport would have to downgrade its category from precision to non-precision.
This is what actually many international airports do whenever they need to rehabilitate runway and shut down their precision approach system – they install S4GA lights and they downgrade their operations to non precision. |
| Q6: Have you also tested solar panel in frangibility test? | A6: Yes, our solar panels were also tested for frangibility. |
| Q7: For maintenance purposes, how do you address lens scratching form jet blast – a major issue for loss of the photometrical output? | A7: If lens is scratched and photometrical output is downgraded, you have to exchange lens. But it is very simple operation that takes around 10 minutes, as you can exchange just the light’s glass dome. |
| Q8: When it comes to PAPI lights I assume that halogen lights require quite large battery. How do you approach this with issue in regards to frangibility requirements? Is the battery located in an electrical pit? | A8: There is no problem, as we install PAPI lights on a side of the runway – about 10-50 meters from the runway edge.
The solar engine is a combination of solar panels and the battery bank – that is installed even further away from the runway. Moreover, solar engine is installed on frangible legs the same way, as PAPI is installed. |
| Q9: Does the runway light comply jet blast test of 480 km/h? On the presentation it was showed only compliance requirement of 240 km/h. | A9: 240 km/h jet blast is a requirement for the low-intensity light and this is the type of light that we are providing. We don’t have jet blast certification for 480 km/h. |
| Q10: Is the solar panel an obstruction and needs a separate frangibility requirement as per ADM Part 6? | A10: No, the solar panel doesn’t need a separate frangibility requirements. As you know solar panels, or solar lights in general are not defined in ICAO Design Manual, so when we test its frangibility, we look at solar lighting fixture as on the whole light. |
| Q11: Do you have cost-benefit analysis of solar AGL versus conventional, wired AGL? | A11: Yes, we have such analysis, and on average our solution is at least 50% cheaper in terms of installation costs.
Moreover the maintenance is only 10% of maintenance cost of the conventional lighting. Another economic advantage of solar system is zero operational costs, as lights don’t consume any electrical power. |
| Q12: How do you change the light intensity? | A12: Every solar light has a built-in micro CCR. When signal to change the intensity is sent, this micro CCR adjust current to obtain the intensity to the requested level.
The User can change intensity in 5-10 steps, it’s just a matter of programming the light. |
| Q13: Do you have LED PAPI lights? | A13: No, our PAPI lights are halogen. |
| Q14: Does the fitting has an external switch? | A14: Yes, the fitting has an external switch – it’s called an emergency on/off button, with which you can activate and deactivate the light. |
| Q15: Does the system require to lay an infrastructure for the brightness control cables? | A15: No, S4GA solar system is installed completely above the ground. There are no cables required to manage the brightness – it is controlled in every individual light by using radio signal. We send a radio command to the micro CCR built-in every light and this micro CCR sets the desired intensity. |
| Q16: Does the solar engine of PAPI has a separate box for the battery? If yes – what is its height? | A16: Yes, the Solar Engine has the box and its height is the same as the height of the PAPI. |
| Q17: How does the communication work? | A17: In few words – it’s a wireless communication where we send the signal to the light, each light is a repeater and transmits the signal to each other. The User can control and monitor lights wirelessly and present these information on our ALCMS Control and Monitoring System.
Thanks to this solution technicians know if lights are activated, on which intensity and if they are operating correctly. |
| Q18: If you consider developing inset solar lighting will you suit the current shadow base? | A18: Yes, we would do that. If you want to develop inset lights we want them to be compliant with overall practices. |
| Q19: What is the response time of sending the signal to the AGL and confirmation of the signal being received? | A19: It is less than 2 seconds. |
| Q20: S4GA products use the wireless network. Can the frequency be encrypted? | A20: In our products we use wireless Mesh network with encrypted frequency. |
| Q21: How many airports worldwide are using solar lighting? | A21: It’s more than 200 airports. S4GA solar airfield lighting is used in many different airports across the World. Check our case studies. |
| Q22: Have you tested your communication signals to be ensured that they don’t have impact on other radio signals? | A22: S4GA lights have been tested by Armament Institute of Technology in Poland in accordance with electromagnetic compatibility testing.
Test results showed that there are no interference with navigational aids such as ILS, VOR, DME or radar. Also the frequency used by S4GA, which is 868 MHz is a different frequency than used by navigational aids at airports. |
| Q23: Can you describe your experience in temporary solution? | A23: We have plenty experience with temporary solution, as we supplied temporary lights for military and commercial airports.
For military we supplied a portable airfield lighting trailers, that are perfect solution for remote air bases. (NATO Airbase in Europe, Argentine Air Forces) For commercial airports we provided different types of temporary solutions. For example during the rehabilitation works at Thessaloniki Airport in Greece, they had to close the primary runway and converted taxiway into a temporary runway illuminated with S4GA lights. |
| Q24: What is the product support in India for S4GA lights? | A24: In India we have our distributor that is technically trained and provides support when it comes to installation and maintenance. Contact us for more information. |
| Q25: What is the maximum distance between radio signal and the light? | A25: From control tower to the first light, the distance range is up to 1,5 km. but then each light is a repeater – therefore there is no distance range limitation as lights will retransmit signal to each other. |
| Q26: Can you control a single light using S4GA ALCMS? | A26: Yes, our ALCMS Control & Monitoring system allows user to monitor and control each light individually. |
| Q26: Are you working also on LED PAPI? | A26: Yes, of course. We can take any airport lighting equipment, including PAPI, runway guard lights, wind direction indicator and we can make it solar-powered and wirelessly activated. |
