Financial Analysis of an Illumination Retrofit for Regional Aircraft

Abstract

The light-emitting diode (LED) is the main lighting solution currently adopted in aircraft cabin lighting. This technology offers high durability, energy efficiency and luminosity, bringing plenty of benefits for being utilized in an aircraft. Despite its high initial price, it has many advantages, and the operational cost is lower than other types of illumination, such as fluorescent lamps. Additionally, LED illumination may improve the flight experience, making it more comfortable and pleasant for the passengers. Aircraft that have fluorescent lamps in their cabin should consider the possibility to make an illumination retrofit to LED lamps, because weight is directly correlated to the fuel consumption and operational costs and the energy economy can bring new improvements to the aircraft. The objective of this work is to evaluate the economic viability of the LED system installation compared with a fluorescent lamps illumination system in a regional aircraft. The study of the data shows that the usage of LED lights could save up to 68% of the energy in a month compared to conventional fluorescent lamps in the ceiling lights and reduce by 38% the monthly operational costs of illumination. The payback period is 4.2 years according to the proposed system.