Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Presented to: 

By: 

Date: 

AIRPORT TECHNOLOGY R&D 

SOLAR POWERED LIGHTING 

RESEARCH 

REDAC 2021 

Darian Byrd 

September 7, 2021 
 2 Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Airport Technology R&D Solar Powered Lighting Research

September 7, 2021 
 3 Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Airport Technology R&D Solar Powered Lighting Research

September 7, 2021 

3
 

1. 2. 

3. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evaluation of Solar Powered Lighting Systems 

on Airports 

Research Request: 

Conduct Research to Evaluate Solar Lighting Systems at Five GA Airports in Diverse 

Geographic Regions Based on Varied Solar Insolation, Ambient Temperature Range, 

and Snow Fall. 

• Cape May, NJ (Initial Prototype Installation) Conduct surveys at candidate GA 

1. Geographic Regions Selected: 2. Site Survey: 

• Central Upstate New York airports in each region to identify most 

• Pacific Northwest (Washington State) suitable locations 

• Central/Southern Arizona 

• Central Oklahoma 

Timeframe: 

Evaluations to be conducted over a 

Select one GA airport from each 

3. Site Selection: sufficient period of time to allow for 

assessment of seasonal solar region for evaluation insolation and related battery charging 

capabilities. 

4 Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Airport Technology R&D Solar Powered Lighting Research

September 7, 2021 
 

 

 

 

 

Research Objectives 

1. Determine Compliance: 

– FAA photometric requirements 

– Reserve battery requirements 

2. Assess functionality and durability: 

– under various environmental conditions, outside of controlled 

laboratory conditions 

3. Cost comparison: 

– installation and operating costs of decentralized solar airfield 

devices compared to conventionally-powered versions of these 

devices. 

5 Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Airport Technology R&D Solar Powered Lighting Research

September 7, 2021 
 

 

Components 

• Airfield Components (total of 46): 

– L-861 Runway Edge/Threshold Lights 

– L-861T Taxiway Edge Lights 

– L-810 Obstruction Lights 

– Elevated Runway Guard Lights 

– Wind Cones 

– Airfield Guidance Signs 

• Each component is “decentralized” i.e. each 

component has its own solar panel and 

battery charging system 

• Two manufacturers 

– Carmanah and AvLite 

6 Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Airport Technology R&D Solar Powered Lighting Research

September 7, 2021 
 

Proposed Test Site Locations 

Pacific 

Northwest 

Upstate 

New York 

Central/ 

Southern 

Arizona 

Oklahoma 

Cape 

May 

7 Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Airport Technology R&D Solar Powered Lighting Research

September 7, 2021 
 

 

 

 

Candidate Airports 

• Central Upstate New York: 

– Oswego County (FZY) 

– Dunkirk (DKK) 

– Penn Yan (PEO) 

• Pacific Northwest (Washington State): 

– Felts Field (SFF), 

– Deer Park (DEW), 

– Ephrata Municipal (EPH) 

• Central Arizona: 

– Phoenix Goodyear (GYR) 

– Casa Grande (CGZ) 

– Pinal Airpark (MZJ) 

• Central Oklahoma: 

– U. of Oklahoma (OUN) 

– Wiley Post (PWA) 

– William Pogue (OWP) 

8 Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Airport Technology R&D Solar Powered Lighting Research

September 7, 2021 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Project Status 

• Laboratory Testing at Intertek and RPI is complete 

• Cape May “Prototype” Installation is complete 

• Data Acquisition formally began on February 1, 2021 

• Preliminary* Site Survey Report for candidate sites in Upstate NY 

delivered on December 31, 2020 complete 

• Interim (~30% submittal) field test data report delivered 

• Final NY Site Visits complete 

• Installation at NY airport (Penn Yan) In Progress 

• Selection of next test sites Commencing 

– Arizona 

– Washington State 

9 Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Airport Technology R&D Solar Powered Lighting Research

September 7, 2021 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cape May Airport – Prototype

Overview –Data Collection 

Field testing at WWD primarily consists of visual observations utilizing 

cameras to monitor the environmental conditions at the test bed and data 

collected from field instrumentation. 

The instrumentation and data acquisition (DAQ) systems are used to collect 

and record data on various accessible performance parameters for the solar 

devices: 

• Battery voltage - allows for tracking the charge level for the device. If the 

charge begins to degrade, it will limit how long the light can remain 

operational which provides an indication of the performance of the device. 

• Relative light intensity (or LED drive current) of the device. - signifies if 

the light output has degraded due to reduced driver power. In some cases, 

the LED drive current provides an indication if the device begins to reduce 

its power to the LED driver, thereby falling below its required performance 

level. 

10 Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Airport Technology R&D Solar Powered Lighting Research

September 7, 2021 
 

 

11 Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Airport Technology R&D Solar Powered Lighting Research

September 7, 2021 

Cape May Installation 

Solar Powered 

Devices Located on an 

Abandoned Section of 

Former Runway 14-32. 
 

Solar Device Test Beds will Have a Combined Foot Print of 

Approximately 100 feet x 70 feet. 

12 Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Airport Technology R&D Solar Powered Lighting Research

September 7, 2021 
 

Portable Test Beds 

13 Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Airport Technology R&D Solar Powered Lighting Research

September 7, 2021 
 

Lights are baffled 

14 Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Airport Technology R&D Solar Powered Lighting Research

September 7, 2021 
 

PEO Test Bed Location 

15 Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Airport Technology R&D Solar Powered Lighting Research

September 7, 2021 15
 

PEO Test Bed Construction 

16 Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Airport Technology R&D Solar Powered Lighting Research

September 7, 2021 16
 

___ ,., ...... 1,-- ..... ___ ...., 

... Opeiiiiona Cilitirate PW 

..... . , 

,_, j, j., 

,._._, ,..,_, S.."""I 

=== 

0 

> 

2.5 

~ 1.5 

"' g 1 

~ 

~ 0.5 

0 

Carmanah Obstruction Light Output, DAQ2, Pas 3 Large 

Battery 12/8/2020 

8~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ oo~N~~~~~oommo~N~~~~~oooomo~N~ oooooooooooo~~~~~~~~~~~NNNN 

Time of Day 

Pyranometer lrradiance Measurement 

12/8/2020 

- lnstinlinK>U$Watts PerSqu.i,e Mete, - - Cumulitive Watt-Hour$PerSquireMelef 

Obstruction lights off- - obstructionlightsOn 3000 

__________ 2500 

AxisTitle 

Data Analysis 

• Raw test data collected during the tests will 

be combined with the temperature sensor, 

pyranometer, and weather-related data. 

• The performance of the units under test will 

be analyzed in view of the environmental 

factors in place. 

• It is expected that the available watt hours 

of energy available will influence the 

performance of the devices. 

• The analysis will use this information and to 

the extent possible identify these influences 

on the performance of the devices. 

17 Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Airport Technology R&D Solar Powered Lighting Research

September 7, 2021 17
 18 Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Airport Technology R&D Solar Powered Lighting Research

September 7, 2021 

Final Reporting 

Reports will include the following information: 

• A description of each solar-powered lighting device 

• Details for each site location 

• Impacts to the airport 

• Conclusions/recommendations derived from results. 

• A cost comparison 

18
 

Questions? 

19 Federal Aviation 

Administration 

Airport Technology R&D Solar Powered Lighting Research

September 7, 2021