The good environmental practices with which Carrasco International Airport carries out its management earned it the National Energy Efficiency Award, granted by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining (MIEM).
This recognition is due to its project to integrate artificial intelligence to optimize the ventilation system and reduce the carbon footprint.
The ventilation system developed at Carrasco Airport, within the framework of the Energy Efficient Airport project promoted by Aeropuertos Uruguay, uses artificial intelligence and integrates sensors and IoT technologies to adjust energy consumption in real time, optimizing circulation and air quality, based on energy demand and operating conditions.
This enabled the airport to create an innovative air quality management system that takes into account the characteristics of the building and processes data from 30 different areas of the airport in real time.
“What we have managed to develop with this system is unprecedented. With the entire AI calculation algorithm, we process data from three variables: the weather forecast, the interior temperature of the building and the air quality. In this way, we are modulating the injection of air into the airport, improving energy efficiency and always guaranteeing the quality of the air in the building,” explained Jorge Navarro Pastorino, Infrastructure and Maintenance Manager at Aeropuertos Uruguay.
The main results of this system include the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the improvement in the performance of the ventilation system through continuous optimization of the air flow.
In addition, the airport managed to reduce energy consumption by generating economic and environmental efficiencies. By using artificial intelligence in thermal conditioning, heat pumps and fans, the airport achieved annual savings of 1,230 MWh, equivalent to the consumption of 3,500 homes per year.
With all this, the company achieved a successful balance between air quality and energy and economic efficiency to ensure an optimal environment for health, without compromising costs or the environment. “We managed to do this while maintaining a first-class experience for passengers at all times,” Navarro stressed.
The MIEM National Energy Efficiency Award is aimed at companies that make efficient use of energy, developing significant changes in this area in favor of sustainability.
“We are very proud of the results obtained with the development of this initiative. I am passionate about working in a company where we are constantly looking for opportunities to achieve greater efficiency and reduce consumption, thereby decreasing the carbon footprint,” said Navarro.
Source: Quatromanos Agency,