REScheck & COMcheck Chesterfield MA - Quick Facts
Local energy code in Chesterfield
- Chesterfield enforces the Massachusetts Stretch Energy Code for new construction and major renovations. IECC Climate Zone 6A.
- Massachusetts has three energy-code levels - base (2021 IECC), Stretch, and Specialized (Opt-In) - and Chesterfield is on the Stretch Code.
REScheck & COMcheck in Chesterfield
- REScheck documents the prescriptive residential path for Chesterfield additions, alterations and renovations (from $300); new-construction performance projects use a full HERS energy model instead.
- Commercial projects use COMcheck for the prescriptive path (from $600); larger new commercial buildings need third-party performance certification under the Stretch Code.
- 24-48 hour turnaround - documentation ready to upload with your Chesterfield permit application.
2026 Mass Save incentives in Chesterfield
- All-electric renovations and additions can earn Mass Save incentives up to $20,000 (Level 1) or $30,000 (Level 2) for a single-family home, verified by a RESNET-certified HERS rater.
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REScheck & COMcheck Chesterfield MA
Need a REScheck or COMcheck in Chesterfield? We produce permit-ready energy code compliance reports for homes and commercial buildings across Hampshire County, matched precisely to your plans so your project clears plan review the first time.
What we deliver
A signed compliance report matched to your plans and ready to upload with your Chesterfield building permit application.
Understanding REScheck and COMcheck
Both are free compliance software tools developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to demonstrate that a building meets the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). They document your envelope, and for commercial work your lighting and mechanical systems, so a plan reviewer in Chesterfield can confirm compliance quickly.
What is a COMcheck?
For commercial and four-plus-story residential buildings, COMcheck is required. It documents envelope, lighting, and mechanical compliance against the IECC or ASHRAE Standard 90.1 and produces the certificates a commercial plan reviewer expects.
What is a REScheck?
REScheck is DOE software for residential compliance — detached one- and two-family homes and multifamily buildings three stories or fewer. It runs a UA (insulation and window) trade-off calculation against the IECC, letting extra performance in one assembly offset another so the whole envelope still passes.
When Do You Need a REScheck in Chesterfield?
REScheck is the simplest path for smaller residential projects in Chesterfield that do not need a HERS rating. It is typically the right tool for:
- Residential additions of 1,000 sq ft or less that are not more than 100% of the existing home
- Basement and attic conversions that do not change the footprint or roofline
- Renovations and alterations to existing homes that need envelope documentation
- Detached accessory structures with conditioned space, where Chesterfield's building department accepts REScheck
- New homes only in base-code towns; Stretch and Specialized Code towns require a HERS rating or Passive House for new homes
COMcheck Projects in Chesterfield
COMcheck is required for commercial and larger projects in Chesterfield. Reach for a COMcheck when your project involves:
- Restaurant build-outs and retail white-box improvements
- New mechanical (HVAC) or service water heating systems in commercial spaces
- Tenant fit-outs and interior or exterior lighting alterations
- High-rise residential buildings of four stories or more
- Medical, dental, and professional office construction
What Your Chesterfield Compliance Report Includes
Fast, permit-ready turnaround
We deliver documentation ready to upload with your building permit application, and we answer plan-review questions if the department asks for revisions.
REScheck report
A signed REScheck compliance certificate matched to your plans, the inspection checklist, and the UA trade-off summary showing your insulation R-values and window U-factors meet the residential energy code.
COMcheck report
The COMcheck Envelope, Lighting, and Mechanical Compliance Certificates plus the Plan Review Checklist — the full package a commercial plan reviewer expects for permit submission.
Plans matched to code
We enter your assemblies, fenestration, and (for commercial) lighting and mechanical details exactly as designed, so the report reflects what you are actually building in Chesterfield.
Serving Chesterfield and Hampshire County
Chesterfield sits in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, in IECC climate zone 5A — the cold-climate zone that drives the insulation and air-sealing levels your REScheck or COMcheck must document. We prepare compliance reports for projects throughout Hampshire County, matched to the code edition Chesterfield currently enforces.
Transparent Pricing for Chesterfield Compliance Reports
Transparent starting prices. Final cost depends on project size, number of assemblies, and scope.
- REScheck (residential): starting at $300
- COMcheck (commercial): starting at $600
- Revisions to match plan-review comments are handled promptly
REScheck reports start at $300 and COMcheck reports start at $600 for projects in Chesterfield. Send your plans for an exact quote.
Trusted by Chesterfield Builders & Owners
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Which Energy Code Report Does a Chesterfield Project Need?
Chesterfield is not one of the 60 Massachusetts communities on the Specialized Code, and the state's adoption list shows Chesterfield on the Massachusetts Stretch Code (225 CMR 22.00 and 23.00) since January 1, 2012, so projects here follow the Stretch Code. We confirm Chesterfield's current code status against the state list before we prepare any report.
| Your Chesterfield project | What the energy code paperwork usually is |
|---|---|
| New single-family home or low-rise residential building | In Stretch Code towns, a HERS rating (maximum HERS 42 mixed-fuel, 45 all-electric) or Passive House. REScheck is not accepted for new homes under the Stretch Code. |
| Residential addition of 1,000 sq ft or less (and not over 100% of the existing home) | REScheck (REScheck-Web, 2023 Massachusetts Stretch Code) or the prescriptive tables |
| Residential addition over 1,000 sq ft or over 100% of the existing home | A HERS rating of the whole house (HERS 65 or lower mixed-fuel, 70 or lower all-electric) |
| Basement or attic conversion with no change to footprint or roofline | No HERS rating required; REScheck or prescriptive documentation |
| Residential renovation or alteration | Prescriptive alteration rules; REScheck can document the envelope. Large "extensive" alterations over 1,000 sq ft may need a HERS rating. |
| New commercial building up to 20,000 sq ft | COMcheck: Envelope, Lighting and Mechanical certificates plus the Plan Review Inspection Checklist |
| New commercial building over 20,000 sq ft | COMcheck Lighting and Mechanical, with the envelope shown by backstop and thermal-bridge calculations, on a performance path (Targeted Performance/TEDI or ASHRAE 90.1 Appendix G) or Passive House |
| Commercial addition, alteration, or lighting/HVAC change | COMcheck for the altered systems |
| Multifamily building over 12,000 sq ft | Passive House or a HERS/performance path |
Based on 225 CMR 22.00 and 23.00 (Massachusetts energy code, 2025 edition). Building departments make the final call, so we confirm the path for your project before we start. Chesterfield is in Hampshire County, served from our Marlborough (272 Lincoln St) office.
How We Prepare Your Chesterfield REScheck or COMcheck
Send your plans
Email the permit set for your Chesterfield project. We tell you the same day whether you need a REScheck, a COMcheck or a HERS rating.
We model the building
We enter every assembly, window, light fixture and HVAC unit as designed and flag anything that fails before the plan reviewer sees it.
Permit-ready report
You get the signed compliance certificates and checklists, ready to upload with your Chesterfield building permit application.
Plan review support
If the building department asks for changes, we revise the report and answer the reviewer's questions.
REScheck & COMcheck for Chesterfield Permits
The state's adoption list shows Chesterfield on the Massachusetts Stretch Code since January 1, 2012, and Chesterfield has not adopted the Specialized (Opt-In) Code. Building permits are issued by the Chesterfield Building Department in the Davenport Town Office Building at 422 Main Road.
Filing in Chesterfield
Chesterfield works on paper. Building and electrical permit applications can be left at the Town Office at 422 Main Road, and building permit mail goes to PO Box 175. Because the town does not list an online portal, print your energy code report and include it with the application packet. Keep a copy on the job site, since the inspector checks insulation and windows against the report during inspections.
Picking the right report
- Small addition or alteration: REScheck, where the prescriptive path is allowed and the addition is up to 1,000 sq ft and not more than 100% of the existing home.
- New home: a HERS rating, not REScheck. The Stretch Code caps it at HERS 42 for mixed-fuel homes and 45 for all-electric homes.
- Larger addition or renovation: a whole-house HERS rating of 65 mixed-fuel or 70 all-electric.
- Commercial building: COMcheck for envelope, lighting and mechanical systems. A new commercial building over 20,000 sq ft needs more than a COMcheck.
Not sure where your project falls? Send us the drawings and we will tell you the same day which report the Building Department will need. Our Marlborough office at 272 Lincoln St C1 is the closest HEEC location to Chesterfield, and we email the finished report as a PDF ready to print for the Town Office.
REScheck & COMcheck Questions for Chesterfield Projects
Do I need a REScheck or a HERS rating in Chesterfield?
Under the Massachusetts Stretch Code, new homes need a HERS rating (HERS 42 mixed-fuel or 45 all-electric) or Passive House. REScheck is used for additions of 1,000 sq ft or less that are not over 100% of the existing home, basement and attic conversions, and renovations. We confirm Chesterfield's code status before we start.
When is a COMcheck required in Massachusetts?
A COMcheck documents commercial energy code compliance for new commercial buildings up to 20,000 sq ft (envelope, lighting and mechanical), for lighting and mechanical on larger buildings, and for commercial additions and alterations such as fit-outs, lighting changes and HVAC replacements. Massachusetts commercial code is based on the 2021 IECC with state amendments in 225 CMR 23.00.
What does a COMcheck include?
The COMcheck Envelope Compliance Certificate, the Interior and Exterior Lighting Compliance Certificates, the Mechanical Compliance Certificate, and the Plan Review Inspection Checklist. Massachusetts 225 CMR 23.00 Section C103.2 lists these as the construction-document requirements for buildings up to 20,000 sq ft.
What does a REScheck include?
A REScheck compares your home's envelope (insulation R-values and window U-values) to the code using a total UA trade-off, so stronger performance in one assembly can offset another. The report includes the compliance certificate and inspection checklist. Mandatory items such as air sealing and duct sealing still apply.
What size addition needs a HERS rating instead of REScheck?
In Massachusetts, a residential addition over 1,000 sq ft, or over 100% of the existing conditioned floor area, needs a HERS rating of the whole house (225 CMR 22.00 R502.1.1). Converting an existing basement or attic without changing the footprint or roofline does not.
What information do you need to prepare a REScheck or COMcheck?
Plans with wall, roof and floor sections, insulation types and R-values, the window and door schedule with U-factors and SHGC, and for commercial work the lighting fixture schedule with wattages, lighting controls, and HVAC and water heating equipment schedules.
Which software version is used in Massachusetts?
REScheck-Web with the 2023 Massachusetts Stretch Code option for residential, and COMcheck-Web set to the 2021 IECC (or ASHRAE 90.1-2019) for commercial, matching the code Massachusetts enforces.
How much does a REScheck or COMcheck cost in Chesterfield?
REScheck reports start at $300 and COMcheck reports start at $600. The final price depends on the size of the project and how many assemblies and systems need to be entered. Send your plans for an exact quote.
Can I apply for a Chesterfield building permit online?
The town's Building Department page does not list an online portal. Building and electrical permit applications can be left at the Town Office at 422 Main Road, and building permit mail goes to PO Box 175.
Is Chesterfield on the Stretch Code?
Yes, since January 1, 2012, according to the state's adoption list. It has not adopted the Specialized (Opt-In) Code, so new homes need a HERS rating of 42 mixed-fuel or 45 all-electric.
Related: HERS rating in Chesterfield · Blower door testing · COMcheck & REScheck reports
Need a REScheck or COMcheck in Chesterfield?
Send us your plans and we will tell you which report you need and get it back to you fast — ready for your Chesterfield permit.
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HERS Ratings in Chesterfield, Massachusetts
Home Energy Efficiency Consultants provides Chesterfield with certified HERS ratings, blower door and duct leakage testing, and Massachusetts energy-code compliance for new construction, additions, and major renovations — with same-day preliminary reports.
We rate homes across the Commonwealth from our four offices. Reach the one nearest your Chesterfield project — Somerville, Framingham, Marlborough, or Everett — or call (617) 501-6788 to schedule a Chesterfield rating.
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