Project Profile: Palmerola International Airport

Palmerola International Airport, built at the facilities of the Soto Cano Air Base just south of Comayagua, Honduras, is the primary civil and commercial airport for both Comayagua and the capital city of Tegucigalpa. With capacity for 20 aircraft and the third longest runway in the country, Palmerola International Airport opened in 2021 and is expected to serve up to 1.7 million passengers per year.

Authorized Dealer Ingenieros Consultores y Constructores Electromecanicos (ICCE) installed a Reliable Controls building automation system to efficiently control the HVAC equipment at Palmerola International, including chillers, air-handling units, fan-coil units, electronic pressure independent valves, and variable air volume units.

With more than 110 air-handling units on site, facility operation is a complex task. The simple system integration empowered by RC-Studio and the ability to use RC-WebView for remote access and control provided improved operation, cost savings, and shorter response times for building operators. ICCE developed a custom graphical interface that makes it effortless for airport managers to diagnose issues and spot inefficiencies at a glance.

With RC-Archive, the airport owns and controls its building data and benefits from a comprehensive record of building performance. RC-Reporter delivers readable, reliable data reports that help facility operators find opportunities to improve system operation. ICCE also used the suite of diagnostic tools in RC-Toolkit to optimize network communications.

A range of MACH-Pro controllers, including MACH-Pro1, MACH-Pro2, MACH-ProCom, MACH-ProSys, and more than 100 MACH-ProZone devices, are installed throughout the facility and are carefully networked using BACnet protocol to control mechanical equipment and third-party devices. By integrating chilled water code schedules with the Reliable Controls system, ICCE provided precise control of air-handling units, leading to energy savings and extending the functional life of HVAC equipment.

“Thanks to the user-friendly Reliable Controls building automation system, efficient operation and management of the airport are much improved,” said Fernando Martínez, project manager at ICCE. “ICCE has a fantastic staff with more than 10 years of experience, and alongside our long-term partners Reliable Controls, we were proud to work on the first new airport built in Honduras in more than 25 years.”