REScheck & COMcheck Duxbury MA - Quick Facts
Local energy code in Duxbury
- Duxbury enforces the Massachusetts Stretch Energy Code 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 Duxbury is on the Stretch Code.
REScheck & COMcheck in Duxbury
- REScheck documents the prescriptive residential path for Duxbury 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 Duxbury permit application.
2026 Mass Save incentives in Duxbury
- 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 Duxbury MA
Fast, accurate REScheck and COMcheck energy code compliance reports for residential and commercial projects in Duxbury, Massachusetts. We prepare the documentation your building department needs to issue a permit — without the cost of a full performance-path energy rating when your project does not require one.
What we deliver
A signed compliance report matched to your plans and ready to upload with your Duxbury building permit application.
Understanding REScheck and COMcheck
REScheck and COMcheck are DOE-developed programs that show a building meets the IECC energy code. Which one your Duxbury project needs depends on whether the work is residential or commercial — here is how they differ.
What is a COMcheck?
COMcheck handles commercial work and high-rise residential of four stories or more. The DOE tool evaluates envelope, lighting (interior and exterior), and mechanical systems against either the IECC or ASHRAE 90.1, with trade-offs allowed across components.
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.
Is a REScheck Right for Your Duxbury Project?
REScheck is the simplest path for smaller residential projects in Duxbury 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
- 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
- Projects where insulation and window trade-offs are enough to demonstrate compliance
- Window and insulation upgrades that must be documented for a building permit
COMcheck Projects in Duxbury
COMcheck is required for commercial and larger projects in Duxbury. Reach for a COMcheck when your project involves:
- Restaurant build-outs and retail white-box improvements
- Tenant fit-outs and interior or exterior lighting alterations
- Envelope work on commercial structures requiring IECC or ASHRAE 90.1 compliance
- High-rise residential buildings of four stories or more
- Commercial buildings — offices, retail, restaurants, warehouses, and mixed-use
What We Deliver for Duxbury 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 Duxbury.
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.
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.
Serving Duxbury and Plymouth County
Duxbury sits in Plymouth 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 Plymouth County, matched to the code edition Duxbury currently enforces.
What a REScheck or COMcheck Costs in Duxbury
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 Duxbury. Send your plans for an exact quote.
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Which Energy Code Report Does a Duxbury Project Need?
Duxbury adopted the Massachusetts Stretch Code (225 CMR 22.00 and 23.00) effective July 1, 2017, according to the state's adoption list, and has not adopted the Specialized (Opt-In) Code. New homes and larger renovations in Duxbury need a HERS rating; small additions and alterations can use REScheck.
| Your Duxbury 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. Duxbury is in Plymouth County, served from our Framingham (68 South St) office.
How We Prepare Your Duxbury REScheck or COMcheck
Send your plans
Email the permit set for your Duxbury 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 Duxbury 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 Duxbury Permits
Duxbury adopted the Massachusetts Stretch Code effective July 1, 2017, according to the state's adoption list, and has not adopted the Specialized (Opt-In) Code.
The Building Department at 878 Tremont Street takes building permits online through the town's ViewPoint Cloud portal. For additions and alterations, Duxbury asks for two sets of dimensioned framing plans and, for wood construction in high wind areas, the Massachusetts checklist for compliance. Additions to structures 75 years or older are referred to the Historical Commission.
What this means for an addition in Duxbury
Additions are where REScheck is most useful. It is the standard document for a small residential addition or alteration where the prescriptive path is allowed, such as an addition up to 1,000 sq ft that is not more than 100% of the existing home. The framing plans you prepare for the permit give us most of the wall and roof sections we need. If historic review changes your window choices, send the approved version so the report matches.
New homes, larger renovations and commercial work
Because Duxbury is a Stretch Code town, a new home needs a HERS rating instead of REScheck (HERS 42 mixed-fuel or 45 all-electric), and larger renovations need HERS 65 or 70. Commercial buildings use COMcheck, and those over 20,000 sq ft need more than a COMcheck in a Stretch Code town. Municipal buildings follow the commercial energy code as well; the town broke ground on a new DPW building in May 2025.
Our Everett office at 371 Main St is the closest HEEC location to Duxbury.
REScheck & COMcheck Questions for Duxbury Projects
Do I need a REScheck or a HERS rating in Duxbury?
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 Duxbury'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 Duxbury?
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.
What does Duxbury require for an addition permit?
Duxbury's requirements for additions and alterations include two sets of dimensioned framing plans, and the Massachusetts checklist for compliance for wood construction in high wind areas. Additions to structures 75 years or older are referred to the Historical Commission. A REScheck covers the energy code for additions up to 1,000 sq ft that are not more than 100% of the existing home.
How are building permits filed in Duxbury?
Duxbury's Building Department, at 878 Tremont Street, takes building permits through the town's ViewPoint Cloud online permitting portal. Upload the REScheck, COMcheck or HERS report as a PDF with the application.
Related: HERS rating in Duxbury · Blower door testing · COMcheck & REScheck reports
Need a REScheck or COMcheck in Duxbury?
Send us your plans and we will tell you which report you need and get it back to you fast — ready for your Duxbury permit.
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HERS Ratings in Duxbury, Massachusetts
Home Energy Efficiency Consultants provides Duxbury 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 Duxbury project — Somerville, Framingham, Marlborough, or Everett — or call (617) 501-6788 to schedule a Duxbury rating.
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