This is why YLW is a brighter place

It’s that time of year when it gets dark earlier and stays longer, but you may have noticed things looking brighter when using YLW.

The airport has, this year, started the first phase of lighting upgrades in and around the terminal building with conversations to LED from incandescent or fluorescent. These include the taxiway, apron, frontage curb and parts of the interior of the terminal building.

Apron 3, out on the air side, along with the Baggage Triangle have had LED upgrades that are expected to result in a 60 per cent reduction in power consumption.

This follows major retrofits in recent years that have resulted in energy savings equivalent to powering 58 homes each year.

“It’s massive, the energy savings on the lights is significant,” James Hall, senior manager of operations at YLW told Kelowna10 on the taxiway. “In Kelowna, especially this time of year, these lights are on at least 18 hours a day, and more like 24 hours a day depending on the visibility and the conditions.”

The need to save energy, save taxpayer money, and meet carbon combatting goals is a serious matter. The next phase of the lighting conversion will include the rotunda building and concourse. In 2025, LED will replace the existing runway edge lights.

Passengers coming and going will have also noticed how bright the curbside walkways are outside the main doors.

“Not only is there a huge environmental benefit but also a customer satisfaction standpoint,” Hall explained. "As you can see it’s much brighter here on the front curb than it has been in the past.”

As long as budgets are approved by city council, YLW aims to be carbon neutral by 2030 and then take things even further for sustainability.

“We have a goal of being net zero, or net negative by 2040,” Hall explained. “It’s an ambitious goal but we have a multi year program in place to help us achieve that number.”