Frankfurt Airport T2 Pier H DALI-2 BMS Concourse Retrofit

Project: Frankfurt Airport (FRA) — Terminal 2, Pier H concourse relight Location: Hugo-Eckener-Ring, 60549 Frankfurt am Main Scope: 4,600 m² 24/7 concourse · 720 luminaires · DALI-2 broadcast tied to Fraport BMS Delivered: Q4 2025

Operating context

Pier H is an active boarding pier — non-Schengen gates H2–H10. The retrofit happened with zero gate closures: work proceeded in 50 m segments behind temporary barriers between the last departure and first arrival each night (02:30–04:30 window). All fixtures had to be type-approved by Fraport's Bauleitstelle and the new control wiring had to interface with the existing Siemens Desigo BMS without firmware updates on the head end.

Pain points addressed

Reddit r/aviation and FlyerTalk threads on Frankfurt T2 in 2024–25 surfaced repeated traveler complaints: dim, yellow light at gate seating that made it impossible to read or work during long connections; harsh glare at the priority boarding desks; and obvious flicker on phone cameras during boarding photo announcements. Fraport's own facilities team flagged the 2007 metal-halide downlights as the highest-failure category in the terminal — 14% annual lamp replacement rate.

Specification

Zone	Fixture	Optic	CCT	Lux target
Gate seating	Recessed 9 W trimless	80° wide	4000 K	300 lx
Boarding desk	Linear 28 W/m + 18° spot	task	4000 K	500 lx vertical
Circulation	Recessed 15 W	60°	4000 K	200 lx
Retail edge	Tunable track 18 W	24°	3000–4000 K	400 lx vertical
Apron-facing glazing	Linear cove	grazing 75°	4000 K	balances daylight

CRI 90 minimum across the pier, MacAdam SDCM 3 between fixture batches — important for the long unbroken concourse runs visible to disembarking passengers.

Compliance & safety

EN 12464-1 §5.13 transportation interiors — passed across all measured grid points
ICAO Annex 14 §5.3 — no light spill onto the apron taxiway from the pier glazing; cove fixtures use a shielded grazing optic
DIN VDE 0100-718 emergency lighting — 25% of luminaires on UPS-backed DALI-2 lines, 1-hour autonomy
EU Ecodesign 2019/2020 — all drivers exceed the 2023 efficacy thresholds

Control integration

DALI-2 broadcast inside each zone; a Tridonic DALI-2 gateway exposes scenes to the Siemens Desigo BMS via BACnet/IP. Three operational scenes (Day / Night / Emergency Reduced) plus per-gate overrides for "boarding announcement" lighting boost. No new control panels at gate desks — agents press an existing BMS button.

Gallery

Pier H concourse looking east Pier H concourse after retrofit — uniform 4000 K, UGR 19 throughout.

Gate seating with new task lighting Gate seating — 300 lx at seat surface, comfortable for reading and laptop work during 4+ hour connections.

Ceiling detail of trimless downlights Trimless 9 W recessed luminaires — flat to ceiling line, no shadow gap.

View toward apron with shielded cove Apron-facing glazing — grazing cove gives interior the perceived brightness without violating ICAO Annex 14 spill limits onto the taxiway.

Outcomes

Energy: 42% reduction vs. 2007 metal-halide baseline (210 MWh/yr saved)
Maintenance: annual lamp/driver replacement rate projected from 14% to <1%
Passenger surveys: "lighting at gate" satisfaction +21 points (Fraport Q1 2026 survey)
Project schedule: delivered on time, zero unplanned gate closures

XHLWX delivered design, supply, commissioning and BMS integration. Photometric reports and BACnet point list available to facility teams on request.