b'80 CAE OPERATIONSlighting controls and energy-efficient LED fixtures yielded a 50%bills reached $60,000, the airport replaced them with a more reduction in energy usage. Improvements were particularly evidentmodern system for $1.8 million.in the parking garage, where the annual electrical bill fell fromThe new escalators, installed in 2021, use motion sensors to $160,000 in 2012, to less than $80,000 in 2022. Based on earlyreduce speed when not in use and automatically return to full successes, the transition to LEDs eventually extended to all areasspeed when passengers approach. Additionally, an auto stop of the airport, including terminal spaces, roadways and ramps,feature enhances safety by eliminating the need for manual leading to a considerable reduction in energy consumption andemergency stops in case of accidents.costs.Motion-sensitive lighting systems save energy during off- Investing in Solarpeak hours, though those results have not been as dramatic asThe fourth phase of upgrades at CAE was a solar array. Initially, expected. Theres very few areas that will dim down and can goairport leaders hoped to build another covered parking deck with very low consumption for maybe an hour, or an hour and a half atsolar panels on the top to power the terminal and create shaded night, Murray says. Theres always people moving around.parking, a sought-after amenity in sunny South Carolina. People Smaller airports with longer gaps between flights may seelike their cars to be covered and will pay a little bit more for that more significant savings, he adds.opportunity, Murray notes. So that was something we were looking to deliver.New Escalators However, when the idea was first explored in 2015, costs More recently, CAE updated its escalators. Units from the 1990swere too high for an adequate return on investment. Instead, the had outlasted their expected lifespan of 15 to 20 years andairport added a 5-acre, 1.38 MW ground-mounted solar array on had become increasingly costly to maintain. When frequentthe airfield in 2016. The system, which was backed by a 10-year breakdowns began disrupting operations and annual maintenanceincentivized net metering agreement, has successfully reduced the SCAN TO BOOST EFFICIENCY AMID CHECK OUTOUR FULL LINE WORKFORCE CHALLENGES OF AIRPORTPRODUCTSPREMIUM PRODUCTS, IMPROVED EFFICIENCY, LESS MAINTENANCE/DOWNTIME Graco Line Striper Low Profile Barricade No Tools NeededRunway Closure Markers800.525.8876 | WWW.SHERWININDUSTRIES.COMContract # 110122-SWNSeptember 2024AirportImprovement.com'