Schiphol Airport: Energy Savings and Carbon Footprint Reduction
Achieving sustainable energy reduction through smart building performance analytics
Project Overview
Schiphol Airport, one of Europe's busiest aviation hubs, embarked on an ambitious journey to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions across its extensive terminal and lounge facilities. As part of this initiative, Simaxx (now Tyrrell Analytics) was installed across multiple buildings, each undergoing comprehensive upgrades of hybrid technology systems.
The implementation focused on integrating advanced building management systems with real-time monitoring, predictive analytics, and automated control mechanisms to optimise energy usage while maintaining optimal comfort levels for millions of passengers annually.
Key Results
6%
Yearly Energy Reduction
On terminals and lounges
127.9M
kg CO₂ Saved Per Year
Carbon footprint reduction
2/3
Gas Reduction
More than two thirds after 3-4 years
4 Years
Implementation Period
Sustained performance improvements
The Challenge
Schiphol Airport faced significant challenges in managing energy consumption across its vast terminal and lounge facilities. With millions of passengers passing through annually, the airport needed to balance:
- Maintaining optimal comfort levels for passengers and staff
- Reducing operational costs and energy consumption
- Meeting stringent environmental and sustainability targets
- Ensuring reliable operation of critical building systems
- Managing complex HVAC, lighting, and building automation systems
The existing building management infrastructure required modernisation to enable data-driven decision-making and automated optimisation of energy-intensive systems.
The Solution
Tyrrell Analytics (Simaxx) was deployed across Schiphol Airport's terminal and lounge facilities, implementing a comprehensive smart building analytics platform. The solution included:
Real-Time Monitoring
Continuous monitoring of energy consumption, HVAC performance, and building systems across all facilities.
Predictive Analytics
Advanced analytics to identify inefficiencies and optimise energy usage patterns before they impact costs.
Automated Control
Intelligent automation of HVAC, lighting, and building systems based on occupancy patterns and environmental conditions.
Hybrid Technology Integration
Seamless integration with existing and upgraded building management systems and IoT devices.
Energy Savings
While Tyrrell Analytics' primary focus is building analytics, its ability to offer energy savings on large assets significantly contributes to reducing energy costs. The data used consists of five reference buildings in the airport which fed data into the Simaxx software.
In older buildings, after installing Simaxx and using the data it provided, the building manager at Schiphol Airport was able to reduce consumption significantly each year. As it hit the third and fourth year, the gas consumption had reduced by more than two thirds.
Hybrid Technology Transition
The data shows that electricity consumption rose for a small amount of time. This is due to the gas consumption being replaced by hybrid electrical solutions. The building occupancy even grew, resulting in a higher demand for electricity.
However, once we hit the fourth year, each one of the buildings now had a lower electricity rate, even when pulling more electricity using hybrid technology.
“We were able to determine, by using Simaxx and the disruptive sensor technology, that the climate issues with the Kraanspoor building was a building construction flaw instead of the technical installations not working properly.”
Reduce Carbon Footprint
There is growing awareness of carbon emissions from flying, and companies are seeking ways to reduce their carbon offset, often by offering carbon offsetting to customers. Companies like Ryanair and EasyJet have faced scrutiny over their carbon offset and are looking for new ways to demonstrate their eco-friendliness. Could flying from airports with lower carbon footprints make a difference?
Buildings are one of the largest sources of CO₂ emissions, contributing towards approximately 35% to 40% of total world CO₂ emissions. When we introduce the Simaxx software, creating an intelligent building with analytics, we make the building more efficient by reducing energy waste generated by the building.
CO₂ Savings Calculation
The CO₂ savings can be calculated based on the average energy and gas reduction:
- 15 m³ gas per m² of floor space, or 26.8kg of CO₂ per m² of floor space
- 88 kWh electricity per m² of floor space, or 49.8kg of CO₂ per m² of floor space
Overall carbon footprint: 76.5kg per m²
Schiphol Airport: 27.8km² (27,870,000 m²)
Total CO₂ footprint: 2,132,055,000kg
With the 6% reduction of carbon footprint, Schiphol Airport now saves 127,923,300kg of CO₂ per year.
Partnership Success
“We have been able to offer Schiphol airport, in our partnership with Heijmans, a yearly energy reduction of 6% on the terminals and lounges. This has been made possible using Simaxx as the core system for monitoring and analysis.”
Results & Impact
After four years of continuous operation and optimisation, the Tyrrell Analytics platform delivered significant results:
Energy Consumption Reduction
The energy consumption across terminals and lounges became lower than the original baseline figure, achieving a consistent 6% yearly energy reduction. This reduction was achieved while maintaining optimal comfort levels and operational efficiency.
Additional Benefits
- Massive Carbon Reduction: Saving 127.9 million kg of CO₂ per year through optimised energy usage
- Gas Consumption: Reduced by more than two thirds in older buildings after 3-4 years
- Hybrid Technology Success: Lower electricity rates achieved even with increased demand from hybrid solutions
- Cost Savings: Lower operational costs through improved energy efficiency
- Predictive Diagnostics: Identified building construction flaws that were previously attributed to technical installations
- Data-Driven Decisions: Comprehensive analytics enabling informed decision-making for facility management
Proven Results for Sustainable Operations
The Schiphol Airport case study demonstrates how Tyrrell Analytics can deliver measurable energy savings and environmental benefits for large-scale commercial facilities. Through intelligent monitoring, analytics, and automation, the platform enables organisations to achieve sustainability goals while maintaining operational excellence.
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