About 40 volunteers walked around campus and turned off unused lighting and electronics at a Longhorn Lights Out mini event Friday evening.

Students first gathered at Liberal Arts Building, received free T-shirts and instructions for the event and continued on to the assigned buildings in groups to search for empty rooms with lights on.

Biochemistry senior Allie Lee, president of Longhorn Lights Out, said the organization is primarily run by student volunteers.

“The goal we are trying to reach is to reduce [UT’s] energy consumption by 20 percent by the year of 2020,” Lee said. “We focus on electricity most of the time, but we focus on water as well.”

According to their website, Longhorn Lights Out has reduced the consumption of electricity by 130,798 kilowatt-hours — more than the average household’s annual electricity consumption, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Since the program began in 2013, 3,698 volunteers have helped turn off lights, computers, monitors and other devices in 164 campus buildings, according to the website.

Lee said Longhorn Lights Out was initiated and funded by the UT Green Fee Committee and is affiliated with Energy and Water Conservation Program.

“Saving energy is one part of it,” Lee said. “We just try to reach out to [more] students and see how easy it is to save energy. It doesn’t have to be really complicated.”

Psychology freshman Sarah Inkster, a Longhorn Lights Out volunteer, said water conservation should be considered in addition to electricity.

“I know that even in the morning, I go to the bathroom and the lights are still on when they don’t need to be on,” Inkster said. “It’s not just light, it’s water, too. So try not take too long in a shower.”

Undeclared sophomore Tristan Bibbs said the event was fun and it was the sixth time he had volunteered for Longhorn Lights Out.

“It’s about saving energy.” Bibbs said. “The environment is important, you wanna put away this energy. Part of my tuition is going into these bills, so I’d love to make it a little cheaper.” 

Longhorn Lights Out events have taken place on the last Friday of every month since 2013, Lee said. The organization holds larger-scale volunteer efforts in addition to smaller events, which allow more volunteers to join.

The next Longhorn Lights Out event will be held on Nov. 18.