REScheck & COMcheck Belchertown MA - Quick Facts
Local energy code in Belchertown
- Belchertown is a Stretch Code community - the statewide baseline for new construction and major renovations. IECC Climate Zone 5A.
- Massachusetts has three energy-code levels - base (2021 IECC), Stretch, and Specialized (Opt-In) - and Belchertown is on the Stretch Code.
REScheck & COMcheck in Belchertown
- REScheck documents the prescriptive residential path for Belchertown 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 Belchertown permit application.
Mass Save rebates for Belchertown (2026)
- 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 Belchertown MA
Home Energy Efficiency Consultants prepares REScheck (residential) and COMcheck (commercial) compliance documentation for Belchertown projects. When your build does not trigger a full HERS rating, these DOE compliance reports are the fast, affordable path to your permit.
What we deliver
A signed compliance report matched to your plans and ready to upload with your Belchertown building permit application.
REScheck vs. COMcheck: What’s the Difference?
REScheck and COMcheck are DOE-developed programs that show a building meets the IECC energy code. Which one your Belchertown project needs depends on whether the work is residential or commercial — here is how they differ.
What is a REScheck?
For homes, REScheck is the go-to. This DOE program checks residential envelopes — detached houses and multifamily up to three stories — and allows insulation and fenestration trade-offs to show prescriptive or component-based IECC compliance.
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.
REScheck Projects in Belchertown
REScheck is the simplest path for smaller residential projects in Belchertown that do not need a HERS rating. It is typically the right tool for:
- New residential construction or an addition of 1,000 sq ft or less that does not require a HERS rating
- Detached accessory structures with conditioned space
- Multifamily buildings of three stories or fewer
- Additions, alterations, or renovations to a one- or two-family home
- Permit applications needing residential envelope documentation on the prescriptive or UA trade-off path
When Do You Need a COMcheck in Belchertown?
COMcheck is required for commercial and larger projects in Belchertown. Reach for a COMcheck when your project involves:
- Medical, dental, and professional office construction
- Warehouse, industrial, and light-manufacturing conditioned spaces
- Commercial buildings — offices, retail, restaurants, warehouses, and mixed-use
- Tenant fit-outs and interior or exterior lighting alterations
- Envelope work on commercial structures requiring IECC or ASHRAE 90.1 compliance
What We Deliver for Belchertown Projects
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 Belchertown.
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.
Serving Belchertown and Hampshire County
Belchertown 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 Belchertown currently enforces.
REScheck & COMcheck Pricing in Belchertown
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 Belchertown. Send your plans for an exact quote.
Trusted by Belchertown Builders & Owners
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Which Energy Code Report Does a Belchertown Project Need?
Belchertown adopted the Massachusetts Stretch Code effective January 1, 2011 and is not one of the 60 communities on the Specialized (Opt-In) Code, so projects follow the Massachusetts Stretch Code (225 CMR 22.00 and 23.00). We confirm Belchertown's current code status against the state list before we prepare any report.
| Your Belchertown 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. Belchertown is in Hampshire County, served from our Marlborough (272 Lincoln St) office.
How We Prepare Your Belchertown REScheck or COMcheck
Send your plans
Email the permit set for your Belchertown 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 Belchertown 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 Belchertown Permits
Belchertown has been on the Massachusetts Stretch Code since January 1, 2011, and has not adopted the Specialized (Opt-In) Code. That puts most residential projects in town into one of two buckets: small work that can use a REScheck, and bigger work that needs a HERS rating.
Where to go: building permits are handled by Belchertown's Inspection Services Department. The Building Inspector's Office is at 2 Jabish Street, and the town posts its Residential Building Permit application and fee schedule on its website. We suggest confirming with the office how they want energy documents submitted with your application.
The two buckets
REScheck projects: small residential additions and alterations where the prescriptive path is allowed. The usual line is an addition up to 1,000 sq ft that is not more than 100% of the existing home.
HERS projects: new homes, which need HERS 42 mixed-fuel or 45 all-electric, and larger renovations, which need HERS 65 mixed-fuel or 70 all-electric. A HERS rating means plan review, a mid-construction inspection and a final blower door test, so it pays to bring us in early.
Commercial work
COMcheck is the compliance document for commercial envelopes, lighting and HVAC. Under the Stretch Code, commercial buildings over 20,000 sq ft need more than a COMcheck.
HEEC's closest office to Belchertown is in Marlborough at 272 Lincoln St C1. Send us your plans and we will tell you which bucket your Belchertown project falls into.
Additions that pass 1,000 sq ft, or more than double the existing home, move into the HERS bucket, so it is worth measuring before the design is final.
REScheck & COMcheck Questions for Belchertown Projects
Do I need a REScheck or a HERS rating in Belchertown?
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 Belchertown'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 Belchertown?
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.
Is Belchertown on the Stretch Code?
Yes. The Massachusetts adoption list shows Belchertown on the Stretch Code since January 1, 2011. It has not adopted the Specialized (Opt-In) Code. New homes need a HERS rating (HERS 42 mixed-fuel or 45 all-electric); small additions can use REScheck.
Where is the Belchertown building department?
Belchertown's Building Inspector's Office, part of the Inspection Services Department, is at 2 Jabish Street. The town posts its Residential Building Permit application and fee schedule online. We prepare the REScheck, COMcheck or HERS report for your application.
Related: HERS rating in Belchertown · Blower door testing · COMcheck & REScheck reports
Need a REScheck or COMcheck in Belchertown?
Send us your plans and we will tell you which report you need and get it back to you fast — ready for your Belchertown permit.
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HERS Ratings in Belchertown, Massachusetts
Home Energy Efficiency Consultants provides Belchertown 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 Belchertown project — Somerville, Framingham, Marlborough, or Everett — or call (617) 501-6788 to schedule a Belchertown rating.
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