Electrical service areas in South Carolina

The panel is usually first. A house wired in the 1970s was not designed for a heat pump, an induction range, a car charger and a home office at once, and the symptom is rarely dramatic — breakers that trip under load, lights that dim when the air conditioning starts, an outlet that runs warm.

Age matters here more than in newer markets. Charleston County has roughly 10,000 homes built before 1940 and another 31,000 before 1960. Knob-and-tube survives in some of them, and aluminium branch wiring turns up in houses built between about 1965 and 1973 — neither is automatically dangerous, but both change what an insurer will write and what a buyer will accept.

Salt air is the coastal variable. Exterior meter bases, disconnects and outdoor receptacles corrode measurably faster within a few miles of the water, and FEMA recommends non-ferrous or heavily galvanised hardware within 3,000 feet of the shoreline. It is a specification decision, made once.

Who issues the permit where

Electrical permits are pulled by the licensed electrical contractor performing the work, in their own name, from the office with jurisdiction over the address.

Between them, the towns above fall under 19 separate permit authorities.

In the Lowcountry, permits come from the City of Charleston for Charleston, West Ashley and Daniel Island, the Town of Mount Pleasant for Mount Pleasant and Park West, the City of North Charleston for North Charleston, the Town of Summerville for Summerville, the City of Goose Creek for Goose Creek, Charleston County for James Island, Johns Island and Ravenel, the Town of Moncks Corner for Moncks Corner, the City of Hanahan for Hanahan, Ladson falling to Charleston, Berkeley or Dorchester County depending on the address, the Town of Seabrook Island for Seabrook Island, the Town of Kiawah Island for Kiawah Island and Colleton County for Edisto Island.

In York and Lancaster counties, from the City of Rock Hill for Rock Hill, the Town of Fort Mill for Fort Mill, the City of Tega Cay for Tega Cay, York County for Lake Wylie, the Town of Clover for Clover, the City of York for York and Lancaster County for Indian Land.

Which office holds jurisdiction matters more on electrical than on most trades, because local amendments and the inspection queue both sit with it, and a panel change cannot be energised until it has been inspected.

Replacing a light fitting or a receptacle generally is not permitted work. Panel changes, service upgrades, new circuits and rewiring are, in every town listed above, and the inspection is the part that protects you.