South Carolina HVAC leads

How South Carolina homes are heated

Electric heat leads in South Carolina by a wide margin. The Census Bureau’s table B25117 (ACS 5-year 2020-2024) shows 1,004,979 of 1,522,121 owner-occupied homes heating mainly with electricity, 66.0%, which is second only to Florida among the states. Utility gas heats 28.1%, propane 3.9%, and every other fuel together less than 2%.

The electric share climbs further when renters are counted: table B25040 (2020-2024 ACS) puts electricity at 70.8% of all 2,117,989 occupied homes and utility gas at 23.6%.

An HVAC buyer uses this to judge the equipment it will meet. Electric heat in a home means a heat pump or electric resistance heating, while gas heat means a furnace, so the fuel tells a buyer which technicians and parts a job needs. The table reports housing, not the share of requests from any fuel group.

South Carolina HVAC contractor licensing

South Carolina licenses HVAC contractors at the state level under two chapters of Title 40: Chapter 11 for contractors generally and Chapter 59, under the South Carolina Residential Builders Commission, for residential work.

• Mechanical contractors (Chapter 11): S.C. Code 40-11-410(5) lists Air Conditioning, Heating and Packaged Equipment among the mechanical subclassifications. Air Conditioning covers systems that produce conditioned air for heating or cooling and includes the Packaged Equipment and Refrigeration subclasses; Heating covers steam and hot water systems, boilers and the gas lines for gas-fired equipment.
• Packaged Equipment limit: the Packaged Equipment subclass is limited to 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 BTU/HR of heating per unit, and names split direct expansion systems, heat pumps and gas-fired furnaces within its scope (S.C. Code 40-11-410(5), checked October 8, 2026).
• When the mechanical license applies: under S.C. Code 40-11-30, mechanical contracting where the total cost of construction is greater than $10,000 requires a license. 2023 Act No. 69 raised that line from $5,000.
• Residential HVAC specialty (Chapter 59): S.C. Code 40-59-20(7) names heating and air conditioning installers and repairers as residential specialty contractors, and says they must be issued specialty contractor licenses after passing the required examination, as plumbers and electricians are.

The residential builder and specialty contractor dollar thresholds are described on the South Carolina window replacement page. Refrigerant work also requires federal certification under EPA Section 608.

South Carolina counties by owner-occupied homes

South Carolina’s ten counties with the most owner-occupied homes, with the share of those homes heated by utility gas and by electricity, from ACS 5-year 2020-2024 tables B25003 and B25117. The figures describe homes and fuel, not where leads come from.

The coast is the most electric part of the list: Horry at 84.8%, Beaufort at 76.9% and Berkeley at 73.3% in the county data (2020-2024 ACS). Gas is strongest upstate, where York County (54.7%) is the only county in the ten with a gas majority and Greenville splits almost evenly at 47.4% gas and 47.8% electric.

What South Carolina HVAC buyers filter on

South Carolina HVAC buyers select requests with the kinds of fields that other home services buyers use. Each of these links to a fact above:

• Project type: for example install, replace or repair, for heating or cooling. With a long cooling season, cooling repair and heat pump replacement fit most South Carolina owner homes.
• Homeowner status: owners approve system replacements; the owner count is in the housing section.
• Timeframe: whether the homeowner needs the work now or is comparing options.
• ZIP code: buyers name the ZIP codes their licensed crews can reach, for example the electric-heavy coast or the upstate counties where gas is more common.

When HVAC opens, South Carolina buyers will set these filters per campaign, down to the ZIP code, as on Summit’s other home services leads. Once HVAC opens, HVAC leads will be exclusive by default, with shared delivery on request. The full field list is on the sample HVAC lead.