Thorn Lighting help London Gatwick on its Journey to Net Zero

Opened in 1958, London Gatwick is said to be Britain’s second busiest airport following Heathrow.

Located 30 miles south of London, the international airport has one runway and two terminals spread across 1,670 acres of land, with the capacity to be used by up to 65 million passengers per year.

A hub for British Airways and other airlines including Emirates, Air France and Lufthansa, Gatwick Airport has big plans for the future. An application has been submitted to bring a second runway into use. By doing so, capacity could be increased to serve 75 million passengers a year by 2038. Consequently, other improvements would be necessary, including updating local roads, highways and infrastructure.

But these aren’t the only changes and plans being implemented for the future. Sustainability has been a key part of the airport’s transformation since 2009. Gatwick’s first and second ‘Decade of Change’ strategies ensure that there are many initiatives in place to achieve net zero by 2030. This includes upgrading all boilers to remove the need for natural gas, updating vehicle fleets to electric and protecting biodiversity.

Lighting refurbishment also plays a key role in that journey to net zero. In 2017 (as part of a different project), Gatwick’s runway lighting was switched to LED, making it 50 percent more energy efficient than when previously using halogen lights.

In 2023, Thorn has been pleased to further assist in the airport’s journey to net zero by upgrading lighting throughout multi-storey car parks 1, 2, 3 and 5, as well as surrounding walkways and other areas of the airport.

Jamie Yates, Key Account Manager for the Zumtobel Group said, “In order to help Gatwick reduce energy and cost and improve the overall light quality, we installed Thorn’s Aquaforce Pro in the main car parks. IP66 certified, the luminaire is resistant to water, dust and dirt and is housed in a tough shock-resistant IK08 body. As well as being easy to install, it also benefits from advanced connectivity. Through the use of basicDIM wireless controls, we’ve made it as easy as possible for Gatwick to enhance their energy saving potential.

The overall lit effect has also been improved” Jamie added. “The previous installation showed areas of failure, creating different colour temperatures within one luminaire and pools of light. The new solution will apply light consistently where it’s needed, ensuring safety and comfort of car park users, which includes both pedestrians and drivers, and ultimately, enhance the customer journey.”

Gatwick Airport’s Electrical LV Manager Steve Wadd explained, “Early in 2023, we’d already opened conversations with Thorn about car park lighting, but we were then invited to participate in a webinar session hosted by the Parking Network in collaboration with Thorn. We were impressed by Thorn’s knowledge and expertise in indoor and outdoor lighting and knew we could rely on them to find a car park lighting solution that would fully support our ambitions for the future, aligned with our ‘Decade of Change’ strategy. Aquaforce Pro has so far met our expectations as being a durable option for the multi-storey car parks.”

Alan Joannidi, Head of Application at Thorn Lighting said, “To be involved with the Gatwick Airport project was a great opportunity to showcase Thorn’s expertise and provide a great lighting solution for multistorey car parks. By example, we were able to demonstrate that a good lighting scheme provides users with a smooth and safe car parking experience.

We’ve enjoyed working closely with Gatwick Airport on this refurbishment project to support their goals for a more sustainable future and look forward to further opportunities to develop lighting solutions that will improve the airport environment for all users.”

Photo credits: Thorn.