In order to improve safety on the airside service roads, Cairns International Airport engaged Orion Solar to provide hazard warning lights, which are used when passengers are present.
The airline attendant escorting the passengers from the terminal operates the hazard flashers through a switch mounted on each pole, which warns oncoming traffic to give way to pedestrians.
Once the passengers have safely crossed the road, the hazard lights are turned off. According to Wayne Nash, Electrical Services Supervisor at Cairns, the hazard lights have received positive feedback from airline staff.
There was a need to remove bird droppings from the solar panel and this issue has since been resolved by the addition of bird spikes.
Cairns Airport installed Orion Solar’s R820 hazard warning flashers, which comprise a solar panel, batteries, electronics and flashing luminaire, integrated in a pole-mounted housing.
The R820 hazard warning flasher is capable of operating continuously or can be manually switched, as is the case at Cairns Airport. An optional remote control is available, which will operate the lights from up to 1km away.
From its Gold Coast base, Orion Solar supplies a range of solar-powered aviation lights including runway edge, taxiway, obstruction, windsock and area lighting.
Besides the elimination of running costs, the benefit of solar-powered lighting comes from the ease of installation since trenching and buried cables are not required.
