Nearly seven thousand lights were turned on nearly a year and a half ago in a Massachusetts school because the software that controlled them froze and could not be restarted. NBC News reports.
Minnechaug District High School was built more than a decade ago, and the lighting system is designed to save money and energy for the district. However, the software controlling the system malfunctioned on August 24, 2021, and since then almost no lights in the building can be turned off. Instead of saving money, the fact that the program failed is now costing the region a lot of money.
“We understand that this is going to cost taxpayers significant money,” Aaron Osborne, deputy director of finance for the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District, told NBC. We’ve done everything we can to solve the problem.” Osborne also said it’s hard to calculate exactly how much this is, because energy prices have changed so much since the coronavirus pandemic.
“I would say the average net cost is in the thousands of dollars a month, but not in the tens of thousands,” he said. It’s been going on for a year and a half because new parts for replacement didn’t arrive due to the pandemic.
Part of the reason for this relatively modest amount is that the high school uses highly efficient fluorescent and LED light sources. Where possible, teachers manually removed light bulbs from classroom fixtures, while staff disconnected circuits not connected to the main system, leaving some outside lights unlit.
However, there is hope on the horizon: The parts needed to replace the system have finally arrived from the Chinese factory and are expected to be installed over the February holidays, said Paul Moston, president of Reflex Lighting Group. “Yes, there will be a remote control switch to prevent that from happening again,” Moston said.
