Is this really a software problem? I’m sure the software is functioning fine.
The problem is a bunch of idiots decided that to solve the problem of people forgetting to turn the lights off they needed a complicated technology to do it for them.
That technology was made with duct tape and bailing wire, and the school system didn’t get a long term support SLA, and whatever controller controls the lights failed open. That part can’t be replaced.
The thing about light switches is they don’t require SLAs, and they’re inexpensive.
I’m sure everyone felt great about spending half a mil on this junk. The few grand the lights being left on is probably the least costly thing about this mess. Green initiative indeed.
They really couldn't just trip the light circuit off overnight until a solution could be found? Last one out etc.? Assuming things like fridges and cctv would be on another circuit, or at least another one could be setup more cheaply than 'thousands of dollars'.
> when possible, teachers have manually removed bulbs from fixtures in classrooms while staffers have shut off breakers not connected to the main system to douse some of the exterior lights.
I wonder how much of this is a custom designed solution versus using simpler off the shelf parts. (IE, Someone was a little too specific in making their requirements, and the installer had to do highly custom work when something standard would get most of the way there.)
In my house, in 2018, I did some similar automation with off the shelf consumer grade hardware. I used the Lutron Cassetta system. Every circuit on the system still has a switch that can be operated manually. If the little box that does the scheduling and connects to the internet dies, all of my lights can be controlled manually. If any of the switches die, I can replace the switch individually.
And furthermore, if I decide that I don't like the system, any ordinary electrician can rip it out and use old fashioned conventional switches.
> I wonder how much of this is a custom designed solution versus using simpler off the shelf parts. (IE, Someone was a little too specific in making their requirements, and the installer had to do highly custom work when something standard would get most of the way there.)
It’s precisely this. There are plenty of commmercial off-the-shelf lighting controls systems by established companies like Lutron, Acuity, Wattstopper, Douglas, and Hubbell. The company in question changed hands several times in a few years, which is not a good sign for operations and maintenance support.
The electrical engineer for the school probably specified his buddy’s fly-by-night lighting controls line in the bid documents instead of specifying an established manufacturer’s lighting control system and the school gets left holding the bag. Fun!
> “I have been doing this for 42 years and I have never seen this kind of supply chain disruption,” he said. “We made a deal with the devil by moving the factories to China.”
> Osborne said they immediately reached out to the original installer of the system only to discover that the company had changed hands several times since the high school was built. When they finally tracked down the current owner of the company, Reflex Lighting, several more weeks went by before the company was able to find somebody familiar with the high school’s lighting system, he said.
"Made In America" won't help much, if you're going to churn-tastic suppliers for complex infrastructure that needs to be kept working long-term.
Light switches are a technology as old as electric lighting itself. Sometimes technological solutions can help, but they're inherently complicated, and sometimes what you need is to be absolutely dead simple.
The problem is a bunch of idiots decided that to solve the problem of people forgetting to turn the lights off they needed a complicated technology to do it for them.
That technology was made with duct tape and bailing wire, and the school system didn’t get a long term support SLA, and whatever controller controls the lights failed open. That part can’t be replaced.
The thing about light switches is they don’t require SLAs, and they’re inexpensive.
I’m sure everyone felt great about spending half a mil on this junk. The few grand the lights being left on is probably the least costly thing about this mess. Green initiative indeed.