Search

Premium Membership ♕

Save 50% on all EEP Academy courses with Enterprise Membership Plan and study specialized LV/MV/HV technical articles, guides and courses.

More Information »
Low Voltage / Medium Voltage / Premium Content

My experience and guidance in the design and electrification of a modern airport

Home / Technical Articles / My experience and guidance in the design and electrification of a modern airport

Mastering the airport electrification

The electrical systems for airports require proper quality installations and consideration for features usually not involved in other electrical installations. In this article, we will be discussing the general elements of electrical practices and facilities which have special significance for airport operations.

My experience and recommendations in the design and electrification of airports
My experience and recommendations in the design and electrification of airports (photo credit: Stevan Simenovic, via Linkedin)

Each airport is unique, and its electrical installation should be designed to provide economical power and control, which is safe, reliable, and easily maintained.

Electrification inside an airport is strictly defined by ICAO standards, along with generally applicable IEC and NFPA standards. Here are some of the most prominent ICAO and NFPA standards that guide the design and implementation of electrification in airports.

  • ICAO Annex 14: Electric Systems
  • ICAO Annex 14: Visual Aids for Navigation
  • Aerodrome Design Manual – Electrical Systems
  • NFPA 101- Life safety and 850 – Fire protection for Electric Generating Plants.
Basically, from the perspective of an electrical design engineer, an airport serves as a load center spread over a large area and consisting of multiple micro load centers. This is because of its large airfield area and multiple functional units. As the layout and orientations of airports around the world might vary as per local requirement and principal, we will be focusing on the general conceptualization that works for most of them.

Since this article focuses on an airport’s electrical design, there will be numerous terminology associated with the general layout of the airport and are used to illustrate the details of electrical installation with more clarity.

This article assumes that the reader is familiar with the basic terminologies related to electrical design and airport orientation.

Table of contents:

  1. Typical orientation of an airport
  2. Power supply and primary distribution in an airport
    1. Main energy sources and central plant
    2. Back-up energy sources
  3. Primary power distribution ring
  4. Low voltage distribution principle and load prioritization
    1. Load management and control mechanism
    2. Load prioritization in airports
  5. Illumination principle for public and other important area
    1. Lighting control
    2. Obstruction lighting
    3. Emergency lighting
  6. Airfield lighting design methodology and power supply requirements
    1. Major types of lights and visual aids in airside of an airport
    2. Constant current regulators and lighting circuit design
    3. Design considerations for series airfield lighting circuit
  7. Quick reminders and handy tips

Membership Upgrade Required

This content is not available in your premium membership plan. Please upgrade your plan in order to access this content. You can choose an annually based Basic, Pro, or Enterprise membership plan. Subscribe and enjoy studying specialized technical articles, online video courses, electrical engineering guides, and papers.

With EEP’s premium membership, you get additional essence that enhances your knowledge and experience in low- medium- and high-voltage engineering fields.

Good to know 💡 – Save 50% on all courses with Enterprise membership plan.

Upgrade

Already a member? Log in here

Copyright Notice

This technical article is protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. Reproduction and distribution of PDF version of this technical article to websites such as Linkedin, Scribd, Facebook and others without written permission of the sponsor is illegal and strictly prohibited.

© EEP-Electrical Engineering Portal.

Premium Membership

Get access to premium HV/MV/LV technical articles, electrical engineering guides, research studies and much more! It helps you to shape up your technical skills in your everyday life as an electrical engineer.
More Information
Bishal Lamichhane - Author at EEP-Electrical Engineering Portal

Bishal Lamichhane

Electrical Engineer (B.E Electrical, M. Sc Engineering) with specialization in energy systems planning. Actively involved in design and supervision of LV/MV substations, power supply augmentations and electrification for utilities and bulk consumers like airports and commercial entities. An enthusiast and scholar of power systems analysis.
Profile: Bishal Lamichhane

Leave a Comment

Tell us what you're thinking. We care about your opinion! Please keep in mind that comments are moderated and rel="nofollow" is in use. So, please do not use a spammy keyword or a domain as your name, or it will be deleted. Let's have a professional and meaningful conversation instead. Thanks for dropping by!

one  ×  2  =  

Learn How to Design Power Systems

Learn to design LV/MV/HV power systems through professional video courses. Lifetime access. Enjoy learning!

EEP Hand-Crafted Video Courses

Check more than a hundred hand-crafted video courses and learn from experienced engineers. Lifetime access included.
Experience matters. Premium membership gives you an opportunity to study specialized technical articles, online video courses, electrical engineering guides, and papers written by experienced electrical engineers.