Three easy steps to an eco-hangar

New business jets have become more efficient and environment-friendly in recent years, weighing less, burning less fuel, and doing so more cleanly. But what about your airplane’s nest? What can you do to make your hangar “go green”?

Many of today’s corporate aircraft hangars seem like throwbacks to World War II. They’re metal sheets riveted onto steel frames spanning a concrete slab, with precious little insulation. Illumination comes from harsh, electricity-sucking metal halide, mercury or sodium vapor, or fluorescent lights, and giant gas space heaters hang from the rafters. Want cooling? Buy a couple of big ceiling fans or open the door. These structures often are leaky energy drains and can be unpleasant places to work.

But you can take steps to improve the situation, says Doug McFee of the Energy House, a Wisconsin firm that specializes in making commercial structures energy efficient. And thanks to the dramatic savings those changes provide, combined with tax incentives and rebates and credits from utility companies, “going green” can be relatively inexpensive. Moreover, costs can be rapidly recouped, even if your hangar is fairly old.

McFee recommends concentrating on three areas: lighting, insulation, and the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and cooling) system.

Lighting is the largest consumer of electricity in commercial buildings, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Remember those LEDs in the new aircraft cabin that you like so much because they provide richer and fuller light? Well, they also provide more lumens—the amount of visible light—per watt of electric power. “You can replace a 458-watt metal halide light with a 100-watt LED and get more and better light in the process,” says McFee, who notes that switching to LEDs reduces lighting energy use on average 60 to 85 percent.

Interior LEDs hold the added advantages of lasting longer, burning cooler, and producing little or no UV, and they don’t flicker, buzz, or hum. Your flight crew and mechanics will appreciate that. For exterior applications, LEDs produce a smoother light, enabling security cameras to capture sharper images.

McFee estimates that it would cost $35,000 to retrofit a 120-by-120-foot hangar with commercial-grade LED lights and that the cost could be recouped in close to one year. He says that LEDs should last 10 to 20 years with normal use and that over a decade they would reduce energy and replacement costs in that hangar by $300,000.

As for insulation, McFee recommends sprayed-on closed foam to reduce heating and cooling costs, guard against moisture, and increase structural strength. “The foam is non-toxic and it acts as a structural bonding agent,” he says. “A few years ago, a building that was in the process of being foamed was hit by a hurricane. Only the foamed walls survived. Look at local building codes in ­hurricane zones—foam is an approved method of stabilization.”

However, it isn’t cheap. Costs run about $1.50 per board foot, depending on application. Hangars in moderate climates can be foamed to an R30 insulation standard, while those in extremely hot or cold locales could need up to R50 values. Foaming that 120-by-120-foot hangar—walls and ceiling—to R30 might cost you $186,000. But it could cut your heating and cooling bill by up to 50 percent. Foam also uses less space than comparable fiberglass insulation, giving you more room for storage, shops, and offices in your hangar.

Because a foamed building is more efficient, it allows you to use a smaller, less expensive HVAC system. You can also save by choosing a system that handles the mean temperature spread of your local climate, adding capacity on extremely hot or cold days with heat-pump technology, McFee notes. “Don’t install a main system designed for extremes. You can do fine with a system one-quarter of that size and your costs will drop dramatically.” McFee says hydronic in-slab and geothermal systems are good choices for hangars when combined with overhead cooling ducts.

Mark Huber, a private pilot, writes BJT aircraft reviews.