Houston ISD will join the city in going dark for Lights Out Houston by turning off all lights for four days this week to reduce electricity consumption.

Lights Out Houston encourages businesses to take a pledge to save energy by turning off building lights overnight beginning at 10 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.

The HISD Facility Services Department will turn lights off at 304 district facilities, including schools and the administrative building. The HISD Police Department and the district’s alarm communications facility will keep its lights on since both are 24-hour facilities.

This is the third year the district will participate in Lights Out Houston.

“A lot of businesses, especially those that are downtown, participate in Lights Out Houston,” said Brian Busby, General Manager of HISD Facility Services. “Every night when you look at our skyline, it’s going to be completely dark for those nights. As one of the largest organizations in the city, it’s important for the district to get involved in this initiative, too, so we can be seen as energy conscious and efficient.”

The free initiative allows the district to conserve energy and save money on energy costs, Busby added.

According to Lights Out Houston, the total savings for all properties that participated in the program last year was estimated to be more than 40 million kilowatts per hour or $5 million, which is enough energy to power 4,000 Houston homes for a year.

The district usually does not go completely dark overnight and uses lighting controls with time schedules and exterior lighting with photo cells to reduce electricity consumption.