Costa Rican Airport Lights Up Airfield with Solar Power

The Juan Santamaria International Airport in Costa Rica will soon be using solar-powered LED signs to light up their airfield, making it the first major civil airfield to use solar energy for their signs.

The Juan Santamaria International Airport is currently installing a large number of the solar LED signs, which will also help decrease the amount of expenditures and project cost with a minimal amount of disruption to aviation operations.

“The joint partnership of ADB and Carmanah was key to winning this project,” said Carmanah CEO Bruce Cousins. “Originally specified for grid-power LED signs, solar presented an economic and reliable solution that is being picked up by civil airfields around the world."

The solar-powered signs (SSS) are great solutions for airfields that need to make quick safety improvement or that have a hard time accessing the electrical grid. The SSS at the Costa Rican airport will consist of an ADB sign and a solar engine power supply (SEPS) by Carmanah. The engine will make the airfield easier to operate in during night and low-light conditions. The LED sign can also be operated by a remote control to make position adjustments as needed.