What is design?
The stage that turns an approved plan into a buildable, compliant AGL system — what is needed, where it goes, how it is powered and controlled.
Design starts from the approved plan and design brief: the operations to support, the standards to meet and what the survey found on site. It then decides the layout, the series circuits and their loading, the constant current regulator (CCR) and cable sizes, and how the lighting is switched, dimmed and monitored.
The result is recorded in drawings, schedules, calculations and specifications, checked in a design review, and issued so suppliers can price the work and installers can build it. Good design finds problems on paper; a design gap found on site means wrong equipment, rework or lighting that does not comply.
- Brief. Confirm the approved plan, the standards to meet and the site constraints.
- Layout. Choose fixture types, patterns and spacing, and check the photometric requirements.
- Electrical. Group fixtures into circuits, check loading, cable losses and supply voltage drop, size the CCR, cables and isolating transformers, and set the power supply (including any secondary supply) and earthing.
- Control. Set intensity steps, zoning, switching and the interface to the control and monitoring system.
- Documents. Produce drawings, equipment schedules, calculations and specifications.
- Review. Check compliance, safety and buildability, then approve for issue and revise as findings change.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1What is design in airfield ground lighting?
The lifecycle stage that turns the approved asset plan into a buildable, compliant specification. It fixes what lights, signs, circuits, regulators and controls are needed, where they go, how they are powered and controlled, and records it in drawings, schedules and specifications.
Q2What does the design start from?
The approved plan and design brief: the operations to support, the standards to meet, and survey information about the airfield and any existing AGL. A design built on assumptions about these usually has to be reworked later.
Q3What is decided in the electrical design?
How fixtures are grouped into series circuits, the load on each circuit, the size of the constant current regulator, the cable sizes and routes, and the isolating transformer arrangement. Circuit loading, cable losses and the supply voltage drop to each regulator are checked, with margin, so every circuit can deliver its rated current. The power supply, including any secondary supply the operation needs, and the earthing arrangement are also set out.
Q4Why is control design part of the work?
Because lighting must be switched, set to the right brightness step and monitored. Circuit zoning, intensity steps, interlocking and the interface to the control and monitoring system are set out in the design so operations and maintenance can use the system as intended.
Q5What documents does the design produce?
Layout and circuit drawings, schedules of equipment and quantities, calculations, and technical specifications. Together they let suppliers price the work and installers build it without guesswork.
Q6Who checks the design, and when?
A design review checks the design against the brief, the applicable standards, safety and buildability before it is issued. Reviews also continue as survey and site findings come in, and the design is revised where needed.
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