Attic insulation, air sealing, crawl spaces and walls for homes in Ravenel — starting with a free assessment that measures the R-value you actually have. The typical home here dates to the early-1990s, and 1% of its 1,063 homes went up before 1940.
Ravenel runs to about 13 square miles and roughly 2,615 people. It sits about 17 miles west of downtown Charleston. There are around 1,063 housing units here. The community dates back to 1949. We cover ZIP code 29470.
We have not logged a completed job in Ravenel yet. We would rather say so than put a number on this page that is not real.
The typical home in Ravenel dates to around the early-1990s. Houses of this vintage usually got batts or blown fiber at whatever the standard of the day was, which is well short of what is recommended now. Most are one top-up away from being right.
Ravenel is a small town in western Charleston County on U.S. Route 17, with the town of Hollywood along its southern edge.
The Census Bureau estimates 1,063 homes in Ravenel. 8 of them (1%) went up before 1940 — 19th of 28 places on this site for pre-1940 housing. The 1990s were the busiest decade, adding 246 of today's homes (23%); 32% predate 1980 and 33% were built in 2000 or later. For Charleston County as a whole the pre-1940 share is 5%, so Ravenel sits below it.
Of 992 occupied homes, 1% heat with utility gas and 93% with electricity; another 4% burn propane or other tank gas. Electric heat here is more common than across the county (76%), and ranks 4th of 28 on this site. Whoever comes out will ask about the furnace or heat pump first, since the heating fuel and the utility named on the bill settle which program money is on the table.
86% of occupied homes are owner-occupied and 70% of all homes are single-family detached houses, with 302 mobile homes in the count. With houses like these, the conversations we expect most are about air sealing on newer houses that already have depth and an energy assessment before deciding what to fix first.
| Built | Homes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 8 | 1% | |
| 1940s | 49 | 5% | |
| 1950s | 150 | 14% | |
| 1960s | 47 | 4% | |
| 1970s | 82 | 8% | |
| 1980s | 133 | 13% | |
| 1990s | 246 | 23% | |
| 2000s | 147 | 14% | |
| 2010s | 162 | 15% | |
| 2020 or later | 39 | 4% |
1,063 homes, Census ACS 2020–2024 (B25034, B25040, B25003); 992 occupied.
379 of Ravenel's 1,063 homes (36%) were built in the 1980s and 1990s. The gaps in houses of that age are the parts nobody sealed: batts stuffed into the rim joist, bare spots over cathedral and tray ceilings, soffit vents buried with no baffles, can lights punched through the ceiling plane. A top-up plus a day of sealing usually covers it.
Ravenel enforces the South Carolina Energy Standard (the 2009 IECC), by state law. Ravenel's building permits go through CC&I Services, which shows the 2021 South Carolina Residential Code in force since January 1, 2023.
That edition sets R-30 for the attic in new work, and R-13 for walls. The Department of Energy's recommendation for this climate zone runs higher: R49 for an attic with nothing in it, R38 where a few inches are already down.
Table 402.1.1 of the 2009 IECC, climate zone 3, which South Carolina's Energy Standard Act adopts for the whole state (section 6-10-30 of the South Carolina Code).
Ravenel requires a permit for this work. CC&I Services' "Do you need a permit?" sheet says anyone who intends to alter or repair a building must first get a permit. Its list of work that needs no permit (painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, counter tops and similar finish work, small sheds, low fences, ordinary repairs) does not include insulation. We pull it as part of the job.
The published number is 864-586-6111. The department page is here.
Permitting is on us, not on you.
Berkeley Electric Cooperative's own territory map shows its service reaching into Ravenel, and Dominion Energy South Carolina also serves Charleston County, so the name on the electric bill decides which program applies. If Dominion Energy South Carolina sends the bill and the house heats with electricity, Check-up Plus covers 90% of an attic, air sealing and duct sealing job, to $2,880, through March 31, 2027; it starts with Dominion's free check-up and uses the program's own contractor.
Berkeley Electric lends rather than rebates: its HomeAdvantage program lends up to $20,000 at 5%, with an energy audit first and the payments added to the electric bill. Income-qualified households can apply to Palmetto Community Action Partnership (843-720-5336) for free weatherization instead. The full program rules are in the rebate guide.
Every layer of an insulated attic, explained
Ravenel borders Hollywood. These are the ones we also cover, each with its own energy code and permit rule:
Elsewhere in Charleston County we also cover:
South Carolina sets the residential energy code statewide, so the attic figure is R-30 wherever it is published here; what changes is the permit desk, and 7 of the 7 publish a permit rule for insulation.
| City | Energy code | Attic R required | Permit to insulate | Building dept. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ravenel | 2009 IECC (state law) | R-30 | Yes | 864-586-6111 |
| Hollywood | 2009 IECC (state law) | R-30 | Yes | 864-586-6111 |
| Adams Run | 2009 IECC (state law) | R-30 | Yes | 843-202-6930 |
| Awendaw | 2009 IECC (state law) | R-30 | Yes | 843-202-6930 |
| Charleston | 2009 IECC (state law) | R-30 | Yes | 843-577-5550 |
| Unincorporated Charleston County | 2009 IECC (state law) | R-30 | Yes | 843-202-6930 |
| Edisto Island | 2009 IECC (state law) | R-30 | Yes | 843-202-6930 |
All 22 Charleston County jurisdictions side by side →
Ravenel enforces the 2009 IECC (state law), which sets R-30 for an attic in new work. Whether it reaches a retrofit of an existing house is not published.
Yes. Ravenel requires a permit for this work, and we pull it as part of the job.
Dominion Energy South Carolina's Check-up Plus pays 90% of attic insulation, air sealing and duct sealing, up to $2,880, until March 31, 2027, for electrically heated homes; the program's contractor does the work. Berkeley Electric members get a 5% on-bill loan instead of a rebate. The federal 25C credit ended for work placed in service after December 31, 2025.
The typical home in Ravenel dates to around the early-1990s; the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 median year built is 1993. Of its 1,063 homes, 1% went up before 1940 and 33% in 2000 or later. That is a median across the whole place, so your own house may be older or newer.
Code and permit facts checked October 24, 2026, rebates October 24, 2026; housing: Census ACS 2020–2024. Sources: townofravenel.com · cciservicesllc.com (2, 3, 4, 5, 6) · scstatehouse.gov (2) · ravenel.portal.iworq.net · charlestoncounty.gov · llr.sc.gov · en.wikipedia.org · www2.census.gov · dominionenergy.com · berkeleyelectric.coop · santeecooper.com · coastal.coop · energystar.gov · data.census.gov. These change; confirm with the building department at 864-586-6111 or the utility named on your electric bill first.
Free assessment, a measured R-value, and photos you keep either way.
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