Inaugurated in July 2010, Terminal 3 at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, has a capacity of 34 million passengers a year and is reputed to be the fifth largest airport passenger terminal in the world. The huge 111,600 square meter complex is arranged on nine levels and has two piers, each of which is 1.2 km long. The airport's vital statistics include 169 check-in counters, 78 gates, 97 automatic walkways, 96 immigration counters, 20,000 sq m of retail space and 14 baggage carousels. All of this requires lighting and illumination. Even though 80 percent of the terminal's structure is made of glass, the airport's lighting system is huge. It comprises more than 100,000 light fittings and illumination points, and some 11,000 electrical and electronic devices like actuators, dimmers and detectors.
In such an airport building, the lighting must be switched on 24 hours a day. Nevertheless, the customer requested energy-conserving lighting management as brightness can be reduced, and automatic dimming/ switching can follow patterns of demand. It is possible to make maximum use of daylight, and systems can be automated using timing and occupation programs. The capability of the KNX system is demonstrated by the fact that it can cope with 100,000 light fittings which are switched and dimmed.
The Delhi Airport project represents an outstanding reference for KNX. The flexibility of the system, its connectivity with other standards and the option of combining decentralized functions to one central building management hub are major benefits and deciding factors for the KNX system. This latter function is performed using IP routers, KNXnet/IP and Ethernet network. This allows central control of the lighting system and connection of error messaging via interfaces with the Building Management System. Furthermore the communication between KNX and the Building Management System (BMS, Honeywell), the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC, ETA), the fire alarm system (Fire CMS, Minimax), a Network Management System, the Energy Management System (Electrical CMS, ABB) and the integration of visualisation software provide the basis for complex applications involving energy conservation, safety and comfort.
For safety and security reasons, the lighting in some parts of the terminal has to be switched on 24 hours a day. But in other parts of the complex, such as the gates, restrooms and the arrivals and departures halls, the ABB solution uses its unique scope for energy-efficient lighting management to the full. It does this by activating, deactivating, switching and dimming the lighting in accordance with preset demand, timing and occupation patterns. For instance, the lighting is automatically deactivated and dimmed to 10 percent of its full strength when a gate or check-in area is not in use. In restrooms, the lighting increases from 50 to 100 percent brightness whenever someone enters, and in offices and service rooms the lighting is controlled by presence sensors.