Istanbul Airport
Istanbul, TurkeyIstanbul Airport is a Helvar mega-project, and currently one of the largest lighting control projects in the world.
Situated between Europe and Asia, Istanbul Airport serves as a hub for over 70 million passengers every year. With such a vast area, it’s crucial to monitor and reduce energy usage as much as possible. The central hub features a tailor-made Helvar solution that allows users to monitor the entire site—including the ATC Tower, terminal buildings, and car parks—while communicating with other systems to share data, identify failures, and regulate energy consumption.
In 2015, construction of Istanbul’s New Airport began, with the goal of creating a unique, spacious, and environmentally friendly environment for its estimated 200 million passengers. The design of the airport draws inspiration from the surrounding influences of Turkish-Islamic culture and heritage.
The first phase included the construction of three independent runways and taxiways, the apron, the terminal building, and systems for air traffic, communication, and meteorology.
The first terminal building covers an area of 1.3 million m² and, at the time, was the largest terminal building under one roof, serving around 30 million passengers per year. Istanbul’s new airport opened in spring 2019, holding the title of the largest airport constructed from scratch, with an area of 76.5 million m².
The airport includes 100,000 m² of retail and food services, making it one of the largest duty-free zones in the world, with more than 400 national and international brands.
Technical Overview
Istanbul’s new airport is equipped with a fully automated DALI lighting control system by Helvar, using the DALI standard (IEC 62386) lighting protocol. Elekon, Helvar’s Turkish distributor known for their expertise in large lighting installations, manages the installation of Helvar’s lighting control system.
Helvar utilises two standard open protocols, DALI and TCP/IP, allowing communication with DALI luminaires, sensors, and control panels via automation cables. This setup significantly reduces installation and commissioning time. The airport’s lighting controls are monitored via a BMS system, which measures the energy efficiency of Helvar’s lighting system and highlights any lighting faults in real-time to ensure maximum uptime.
Given the vast area of the airport, monitoring and reducing energy usage is vital. Additional features, such as daylight harvesting, ensure that lights are only used when natural light levels are insufficient.
There are over 300,000 lighting fixtures across Istanbul Airport, combining to create near-natural light throughout the facility. This is crucial not only for the 40,000 staff working at the airport but also for the millions of passengers passing through, providing a welcoming and comfortable experience when it’s needed most.
Remarkably, only five types of Helvar components—routers, relay units, sensors, user interfaces, and Niagara software—are required to ensure all 300,000 fixtures operate at peak performance. In tandem, they work to provide a pleasant atmosphere that closely mimics natural daylight, which is essential for both staff and passengers.
