A Massachusetts public school has been unable to turn off its lights for a year and a half

The failure of a "green lighting system" to optimize and make consumption sustainable for a Massachusetts public school resulted in the 7,000 lights in the facility not being turned off for a year and a half.

A glitch in the electrical installation software is the cause of the error that is costing taxpayers a small fortune. Speaking to NBC News, Aaron Osborne, the assistant superintendent of finance at the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District noted that the costs could have been much higher if "efficient fluorescent and energy-efficient LED bulbs" had not been installed.

Thousands of dollars per month in electricity

Osborne was saddened by what happened, but stressed that "we have been doing everything possible to solve this problem. We are well aware that this is costing taxpayers a significant amount of money." However, he insisted that the cost has been well below what neighbors fear. "I would say the net impact is thousands of dollars a month on average, but not tens of thousands." However, he says he cannot provide an exact number for the cost since the cost of energy has fluctuated wildly over the years.

An installation "to save energy”

The school was rebuilt in 2012, at which time they took the opportunity to install a "green lighting system" based on software installed by a company called 5th Light. The system was designed to save energy (and therefore money) by automatically adjusting the lights as needed.

To the relief of many, it appears that the parts needed to fix the malfunction are already on site, and the school will be able to stop seeing its lights on 24 hours a day. This was announced by Paul Mustone, president of Reflex Lighting Group, who hopes to be able to undertake the repair during the February vacations. "And yes, there will be a remote override switch so this won't happen again," Mustone said.