For three months, Eduardo Gomes International Airport, in Manaus (AM), underwent extensive renovations aimed at improving the thermal ambience and energy efficiency to offer more comfort to users. From October 2022 until mid-January this year, around 23 thousand square meters of thermal blankets were installed under the roof of the largest airport in the North region.
The city of Manaus reaches high temperatures throughout the year, mainly between the months of August and November, with an average temperature above 33°C. The hottest month is usually September, when the maximum reaches 33°C and the minimum is 25°C, on average, and can exceed 39°C, with thermal sensations that exceed 42°C.
“These climatic conditions made the concessionaire responsible for managing the airport decide to use insulation technology to reduce the negative impacts of heat”, says Ricardo Valentini, CEO of 3TC Isolamento. According to him, the use of the thermal insulation system results in greater energy efficiency and a reduction in the energy consumption of air conditioning equipment. The installation method was carried out above the lining structure and below the roof structure, which allowed for the continuity of the airport’s activities and avoided impacts, interference or stoppages at the site.
The measurements carried out during the work reveal significant results. In the Departures Hall, one of the most frequented areas of the airport, from a temperature of 34.6°C before the application of the 3TC thermal blankets, the thermal sensation dropped to 28.1°C, which is equivalent to a reduction of 6. 5°C. The average reduction was 16°C in surface temperature, taking into account all the different project installation locations. The renovation was carried out in 90 days.
“We estimate a return on investment in less than three years, due to the energy savings provided by the thermal insulation system”, says mechanical engineer Ricardo Cerri, specialist in energy efficiency and responsible for project management by the Manaus International Airport administrator. He has conducted technical studies and benchmarked software to evaluate various commercially available materials. After surveying, he concluded that the technology used would provide the best thermal performance for the project. According to studies conducted by him, the application of the thermal insulation system will reduce the airport’s annual energy consumption by 1,116,997kw/h.
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