58 SOW lighting project could set standard for DoD facilities

  • Published
  • By Argen Duncan
  • Nucleus writer

The 58th Special Operations Wing aircraft ramp lighting alone uses as much electricity as 140 New Mexico homes, but a test project could cut that consumption by three-fourths.

Under a Department of Defense tri-service demonstration project in which the Army, Navy and Air Force are working together in different roles, Kirtland Air Force Base could become a test site for cutting-edge LED lighting.   Final approval for funding under the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program is pending, but Kirtland personnel are hopeful after submitting a pre-proposal package to the program. 

“This will be a benchmark for other DoD facilities,” said outgoing 58th SOW facility operations manager James McCall.

He expects project approval may come as early as the end of 2016, with the work projected to begin later in fiscal year 2017.

The 248 current ramp lights, mounted on the roofs of hangars, are 1,000-watt metal halide lights, the predominate type used for non-residential outdoor illumination.

It costs about $93,000 a year to power the metal halide lights, McCall said.  Advanced LED lighting would cut that amount to about $30,000 annually.

LED bulbs also require less maintenance, saving even more money.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average New Mexico home uses almost 7,600 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. McCall said the SOW maintenance and parking ramp lighting alone uses close to 1.1 million kilowatt-hours a year, as much as 140 New Mexico homes.

The test project aims to drop that consumption by up to 75 percent and would simultaneously improve lighting to meet safety, security and maintenance standards.

“I came on here a couple of years ago and realized these are the wrong lights for the application,” McCall said.

For one, they're visible from the Starfire Optical Range, potentially interfering with its telescopes.

“These lights are among the worst violators for light pollution,” he said.

The fixtures have to be tipped up, instead of straight down, to cast light out into the space between hangars. Even then, the light is too weak in much of that area, and other parts of the airfield are left in darkness (well below standards).

To make matters worse, the metal halide bulbs’ light output drops 50 percent a year and a half into what’s supposed to be their three- or four-year lifespan.

Many of the bulbs don’t even make it past 12 months before they break from vibrations from aircraft and their tipped-sideways position. Then personnel from the 58th have to coordinate with maintenance workers from the 377th Air Base Wing to have the bulbs replaced.

 “It’s frustrating for us, and it’s frustrating for the host, the 377th, because it really is a maintenance nightmare to come out here and keep replacing these over and over and over again,” McCall said.

He spoke to Base Energy Manager Susan Gregory, who learned the Air Force Civil Engineering Center was looking for a base at which to test advanced LED light design. The engineers thought the 58th’s airfield was an ideal location.

If the project is approved, the civil engineering center will utilize ESTCP funding to pay for the new lights and provide engineering services.

McCall and Gregory have also submitted a backup funding plan via Unspecified Minor Military Construction (UMMC) just in case ESTCP funding is not approved.

LED lights perform well with vibration because, unlike metal halide lamps, they don’t have moving parts, McCall said. Plus, LED bulbs are expected to last 15 years.

The technology for LED mast lighting, used for large outdoor areas, is relatively new, he said. He expects to use the same design the NFL commissioned for the 2014 Super Bowl.

He said the LED mast lights will shine down instead of out, illuminating more of the desired area while causing less light pollution.

As well as meeting the needs of aircrews, the LED lights must comply with Federal Aviation Administration regulations, mission constraints, physical limitations and Starfire Optical Range needs.

“We have a lot of moving parts,” McCall said.

He said he appreciated the working relationship and support he had with the 377th Civil Engineering office, where Gregory works.