Hagemeyer North America donates sustainable lighting to S.C. Historical Society
Charleston, S.C.-based Hagemeyer North America has donated more than $12,000 worth of products and services for an energy-efficient lighting redesign project at the South Carolina Historical Society’s headquarters in the historic Robert Mills Fireproof Building located at 100 Meeting Street in Charleston.
Native South Carolinian Robert Mills, who, as federal architect under President Andrew Jackson, designed the Washington Monument, designed the Fireproof Building in 1822. It was built to serve as a state office building with secure storage for local public records and was the first fireproof structure in the nation built specifically to protect documents. Although major renovations to the interior and exterior of the structure were completed in 2002, the lighting throughout had not been updated for decades.
The Historical Society had three goals for the lighting upgrade, said Historical Society Board Manager Richard Hutson. “We wanted aesthetically pleasing fixtures that provided brighter, enhanced lighting for the comfort of our patrons and members; longer-life bulbs to avoid time-consuming and sometimes precarious bulb changes; and, most importantly, energy efficiency solutions for reduced costs and for the good of our environment,” Hutson said.
Hagemeyer and three of its vendors, Rosemont, Ill.-based Philips Lighting and Philips Advance, and Chicago-based Veolia, provided the lighting audit, products and recycling services, a $12,000 value, free of charge. “[The lighting project] helps us reduce energy consumption, which benefits the environment and saves the society precious dollars that are needed for operations,” says Faye Jensen, executive director of the South Carolina Historical Society. “We hope this partnership with Hagemeyer will inspire other Charleston-based businesses to help local non-profits.”