Airport tests new lighting in parking lot
By Faith Nasmyth

Hartsfield-Jackson is testing potential replacements for the metal halide lighting fixtures in its parking decks. Five companies replaced some of the existing fixtures with their state-of-the-art LED or induction fixtures, which are expected to have significant financial and environmental benefits.

“The test is purely investigative, and the plan is still in its earliest stages of development,” said Aviation Innovations Manager Doug Strachan, the point man for the test.

Each of the five lighting companies — Lighting Technologies, Cooper Lighting, General Electric, Eco Power and Energy Management Associates — replaced 10 of the old fixtures with 10 of its own fixtures in North Parking 1. Each company has an aisle, or bay, and there are control aisles between test aisles to give a clearer sense of the light produced by the new fixtures. The test officially began April 15 after installation was complete.

The fixtures could improve the look and feel in parking decks and save the Airport about $250,000 annually in energy costs. They also would add to the Airport’s green efforts, because they use much less energy to produce the same amount of light. Also, the 500 percent increase in longevity would mean that the bulbs would be changed less frequently and fewer products would be sent to landfills.

The final decision about the lighting test will involve several Airport stakeholders, including the Parking, Planning and Development, Finance, Maintenance, and Environmental and Technical Services units. They will judge each lighting company by the quality of the product, quantity of light, light distribution pattern, longevity, energy savings, and product and company reliability.

“Initial test results are encouraging, as project goals include not only saving energy and money and being environmentally friendly but also enhancing the ambiance of the parking facility, and we see evidence that that is possible,” Strachan said.